


The Lord of Storms End

by gendryswhore



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Game of Thrones Fusion, Anger, Bran Stark - Freeform, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Eventual Smut, F/M, Family Drama, First Kiss, First Love, First Time, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Game of Thrones - Freeform, Gendry is a Baratheon, GoT, Heart Attacks, Hurt, Jealous Arya Stark, Jealous Gendry, Jealousy, Jon Snow and Arya Stark are Siblings, Jon and Daenerys Are Not Related, Jonerys, King Gendry, Light Angst, Love, Love at First Sight, Married Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Minor Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, POV Arya Stark, POV Gendry, POV Gendry Waters, Pain, Parent Gendry, Past Arya Stark/Gendry Waters, Post War, Pregnant Arya Stark, Pregnant Sex, Queen Arya, Queen Daenerys, Queen Sansa, Sad, Secret pregnancy, Sisters, Slow Burn, True Love, Winterfell, bastard son, comes back, family love, first time seeing each other in forever, gendrys one true love, he is a bastard, hidden baby, ugh my fucking heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-02-29 00:32:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18767518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gendryswhore/pseuds/gendryswhore
Summary: Gendry Baratheon is now the Lord of Storms End and is soon to be betrothed to a noble daughter. Arya Stark has been gone for almost four years travelling alongside the Hound when she suddenly re emerges back into Gendry's life. Will Gendry stay faithful to his house and his duties as a Lord or will he follow his heart?AU: The ending we all deserve. My take on what happens after Season 8. In which, Jon/Daenerys did not know that they were related (aunt/nephew)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU: In which, Jon/Daenerys did not know that they were related (aunt/nephew) & are still madly in love. Missandei didn't die and Jorah Mormont serves his Khaleesi in Kings landing.

_**CHAPTER 1** _

-

After the Great War had commenced and Cersei Lannister was finally killed at the hands of her lover and twin brother Jamie Lannister, it seemed as if peace fell over the seven kingdoms. The Dragon queen, who herself was kind and projected nothing by genuine love and goodness was loved by her people. She ruled alongside her husband Jon Snow, a bastard of Lord Eddard Stark as they looked after the people of King’s Landing whom were now striving. They thrived off good health and happiness, something King’s Landing had not seen since the Mad King’s reign right until the moments of his untimely fate of madness. She had became a good queen and he had became a good King, just as rumours were told. At first, it had become a hot topic gossip that spread around Westeros on whether it was possible that two rulers could lead the seven kingdoms. Some were even considerably angry at the fact that Jon had a stronger claim as he was a male, but instead of trying to intercept fate just as the many rulers before them had done, they allowed time to run it's course and ruling the kingdoms became natural. They lived in harmony in Kings Landing. And soon, it seemed as if everyone was happy. It was almost as if there was nothing to be sad about. The North had claimed their own independence in the north and everyone seemed finally at peace. The years seemed to flow on as the long summer began. Everyone seemed to be happy. Except for him.

 

Gendry Baratheon was sad. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen her. The years after the great war had flown by like bliss. While he was too busy learning how to properly use forks and manage the Storm ends with help of Ser Davos of Seaworth, he had his hands busy. But winter was coming. And as it approached, memories of his first love began to bristle through his mind.

 

They were vague of course. As he tightly closed his eyes at night fall or when he would peacefully look out into the blissful vast green land he could finally claim as his, he can vastly remember the way her brunette hair spills just on top of her shoulders, or the way she swiftly moved around Winterfell in silence. At the beginning, he was devastated when he found out she had left. It was like his heart was torn in two as he remembers waking up the next morning with a heavy heart to reveal that Arya was gone. Just like that, his heart broke. Almost as if she had stolen it away and would never get it back.

 

He wished he could go back in time to relish in their last moments before she had wandered. He wished the image of his beautiful Stark lying naked beneath his fur coat just before the Battle of Winterfell was etched into his mind forever. How blissfully she lay there, in silence as she looked so peaceful. Or the way her eyes lit up in awe and admiration as he clumsily admitted his love for her and how he desperately wished she would finally become his lady of the Storms end. But as much as he twisted and turned at night yearning to remember even a small inch of her, he just couldn’t remember. Gendry wasn’t a godly man. He had never believed in such things as a boy growing up in Flea Bottom but the first night alone, he prayed. He wished his Arya Stark would come back to him. To profess her love for him and say she wanted to be with him. But that was a mere dream.

 

So as he lay there, cosily rugged up in blankets smuggled by the heat of the fire, laying beside Agnes Baker, his soon to be future wife, he shook his head. He couldn’t remember her. And maybe he didn’t want too. After the years had gone by and Gendry had somewhat gotten used to ruling over the Stormlands, Ser Davos arranged that he marry a daughter of one of the noble houses to strengthen certain allegiance and loyalty to their house. And with much reluctance, he did. And soon, she was to be his future wife.

 

“Gendry..”

 

Gendry cocks his head sideways to look down at the women beside him. Agnes Baker was a beautiful women, who resembled a different sort of beauty compared to Arya. She had beautiful golden locks that trimmed her heart shaped face perfectly, with small slanted ice blue eyes, she was considered a beauty amongst to other lords. As she gazed up at him lovingly, the blanket barely covering her chest as she lay close against him, his heart churned. Throughout the time, as memories of Arya began fading, he managed to slowly gain feelings and began to fall in love with her. It was impossible not too. She was kind, graceful and elegant, the perfect fit for a lady of a castle. To him, she had initially resembled Lady Sansa Stark a lot but as time grew, he realised they were nothing alike. Gendry knew she was the perfect women to become a lady and have his children. He shook his head in anger at himself. He felt bad for her. Here he was, laying beside his future wife and making sweet love to her almost every night, all the while trying to remember the familiar face of the girl he had once love. It made him uneasy. Sighing, Gendry softly pulls her closer to him as he brings his palm to cup her cheek, grazing his thumb gently across her face.

 

“Come, let’s sleep my love”

 

Nodding, he kisses the top of her forehead softly before snuggling beside her. He couldn’t think about Arya. He shouldn’t. He was about to be a married man living alongside his future lady who would soon carry his children. He needed to forget her. And just like that, Gendry closed his eyes before briefly falling to sleep, the nagging thought of Arya Stark buried deep in the back of his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU: In which, Jon/Daenerys did not know that they were related (aunt/nephew) & are still madly in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a bit rushed but enjoy!

**CHAPTER 2**

-

As a child, Gendry had always dreamed of becoming somebody. Maybe a member at the Night’s Watch, protecting the wall and the realm of men or becoming a fancy squire to a few lords here and there. But never did he expect, even in his wildest dreams that he was to be a Lord himself. Gendry remembers the first moment Ser Davos accompanied him all the way to the Storms Land after the war. He was greeted with a few odd stares and glances, some even angry that he had only been a bastard a month ago, claiming that he had no legitimate right. But then there were others who seemed to praise him or even worship him as they often threw themselves onto the carriage bowing down to kiss his feet. He didn’t know how to feel other than the fact that he was so overwhelmed to the point that he could barely sleep, tossing and turning at night till the dawn emerged. 

The Storm’s End was even more beautiful than Gendry could recall. Located out on the outskirts of Shipbreaker bay, the fresh breeze of the ocean was the first thing he enjoyed as he stood outside on the edge of his balcony taking in the view. The distant hills that stood afar in the background was covered in a luscious green, filled with a beautiful forest surrounding it. The castle itself was barricaded in a circle, up top a hill were the view was, the waves crashing against the shores beneath, swaying gently through the summer. It may had not been as big as Winterfell or High Garden, but it was peaceful than most. He enjoyed roaming around the openly wide castle by himself as he listened to the waves. It was what Gendry enjoyed the most. If only he wasn’t stuck in his study shifting through work alongside Maester Locke. 

Sighing heavily, Gendry rubs a hand through his clean black hair before briefly closing his eyes as he sits back in his chair, staring at the paperwork. A few noble houses in the Storm Lands such as Summer Hall and Black Haven had needed some assistance regarding for more men to transport the trades to Winterfell as winter would soon be upon them. But it didn’t help that Gendry still couldn’t read. 

 

“My Lord, maybe it’s best we take a break for a while”

 

Gendry looks up to see Maester Locke sitting across him, dressed in a black long gown staring at him with concern. Gendry shakes his head as he inhales deeply. “There are a lot more matters that need to be addressed, I’d hate to even miss out on a few” Maester Locke nods his head in response before slowly getting up from his chair. He watches as the old man shuffles through the small pivoted room towards the back of the room grabbing a few large books in his frail arms before walking back over and taking a seat. 

 

“Shall we start with the History of Westeros?” 

 

A loud knock suddenly intercepts Maester Locke’s words as they both swiftly turn towards the door, as it peers open to reveal Ser Davos of seaworth, accompanied by Agnes from behind as they nod and curtsy before entering and closing the door behind him. Ser Davos nods at Maester Locke before locking eyes with Gendry. “My Lord”. After a while of helping him settle in to the Storms End in the beginning, Gendry pleaded that Ser Davos stay with him. And he had done just that. He was a man with honour who kept his promises yet released positivity to Gendry, including feelings of inspiration and admiration. To Gendry, Ser Davos of Seaworth was his father figure.  “What is it, Ser Davos?” 

“Oh! It’s wonderful!” Agnes, his future wife proclaims as she swiftly makes her way through the room towards him as she bends down to his lower level before placing a soft peck against his cheek. Gendry’s cheeks turn crimson red at the affection as she giggles at this before positioning herself, standing behind him as her hands rest above his shoulders in a calming manner. Maester Locke avoids eye contact with Gendry as he looks back at Ser Davos who looks up at her curiously before unrevealing a parchment of paper beneath him.  “A raven was sent out from King’s Landing to all the regions in Westeros. The queen has given birth. And it is a boy”. Agnes lets out a girlish squeal as Gendry’s eyes widen, before a grin appears across his face. It was about damn time the queen finally have an heir. “Aye about time!” Gendry cheers on. Maester Locke and Ser Davos begin to engage in a conversation about the queen as he feels a hot breath on the back of his neck sending shivers down his spine. “Do not fret my love. Soon, that will be me carrying our child” 

 

Gendry almost choked. 

 

“She is told to be holding a name day for him at the capital in a few weeks time and she insists that you join her”, Gendry pauses in his movements as he looks wearily up at him before standing from his chair and walking over to Ser Davos, taking the piece of parchment beneath his hands. Although he had excelled in writing and mastering the technique in holding the quill, reading was still a tricky part for him as he squints. It was true, though he had pin pointed out the obvious words to him, he suddenly felt uneasy about leaving. Although the realms of men finally lived in peace and harmony, he felt somewhat anxious in returning to that god forsaken city in which he experienced most of his childhood life in, growing and struggling through poverty. 

“Is it a must?” Gendry didn’t want to go. As childish as it seemed,  he wanted to remain in Storms End alongside Agnes, ruling in peace as the sound of the ocean waves were heard everyday. He wanted calmness. He loved the freedom he felt living in these halls. He finally felt as if he was able to properly call it home.  Ser Davos chuckles at Gendry’s response before slapping a hand across his shoulder in a playful manner. “My boy, I think it is about time you return to that shit hole of a city. Well, not’s shit hole anymore. But aye, I guarantee lad, this time you’ll enjoy it more”. Gendry  doesn’t respond as he glances eerily through the spacious room before walking over towards the open balcony that overlooked the courtyard where the flowers bloomed. He knew it had been years since he was last there. He knew it was a different time now than it was all those years ago, living as a bastard but he couldn’t shake the feeling of wary and uneasiness off. 

  
  


“What’s wrong, my love?” 

  
  


Agne strides up from beside him as she takes place on his left, peering up at him with a confused dazed look. The hot summer heat seemed to leave a natural glow light across her features as her blonde elegant hair was tied up and braided nicely, flowing down her back.  He doesn’t respond but instead trains his eyes back on the view. Gendry had not told her about his time living in Flea Bottom. She knew, of course that he had been a bastard, assuming that he lived in The Vale for most of his life but she had no idea of what he had been through. He never seemed to want to talk about it and when often the topic would resurface at balls or even at supper,  she would sense his discomfort and turn a blind eye, changing the topic. For that, he was thankful. 

He turns back at her before softly smiling at her genuine worried look that spreads across her face. “I’m happy for the queen, I mean, I truly am. But King's Landing is a dangerous place. There may be a new queen in succession but the people are still the same, no matter the goodness the relish in now. You cannot  trust anyone”. She looks confused at his words for a moment before her eyes seem to soften up at his answer. She rests out her gentle hand over his, tightly giving it a squeeze in effort to comfort him.

“You are the warden of the StormLands. You are the last living heir of House Baratheon. There is no one you should fear but God”. A slight feeling of irritation flowed through him but he shakes his head. She had not known about anything, so of course that was her natural response. How badly he wanted to turn to her and say ‘Fuck her gods’ but he bit his tongue back. Ser Davos clears his throat awkwardly from behind as they turn around to see him beside the Maester, striding towards them. “Lady Sansa will be joining as well if it puts you to ease. Besides, Jon is king now” 

 

Gendry shakes his head. He had not seen Lady Sansa and Jon either in quite a while. Maybe it would be good to see a familiar face he had accustomed to all those years ago. But as they all stared at him with a quisling look, he felt trapped beneath the stares of them all as they looked at him. He just didn’t want to leave. Finally, he had began to feel as if this was his home, a place of comfort and ease as he could do what he pleased, whenever. And now that he finally felt like he belonged somewhere for once in his life, he was soon momentarily be ripped right away from it. He knew he couldn’t reject the offer. He was a lord now. He had a duty to fulfill, though not to just his people but to the queen of the seven kingdoms. Gendry lets out a shaky sigh. “The people?” Maester Locke steps forward quietly. “A regent will be put in place in your absence, my lord. They will be in good hands. Do not worry”. 

Gendry doesn’t respond before he turns away from their gazes and turns back to the calming scene in front him, realising it would be another two months time from now until he could see this again. Without glancing further into it, Gendry nods his head. “Draw up a raven. I’d like to write back”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU: In which, Jon/Daenerys did not know that they were related (aunt/nephew) & are still madly in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DISCLAIMER: I recently decided to change the characters plot to make Jon rule as king alongside Dany. this may get confusing to some readers but just to clear it up that this does not really affect the main storyline. I have made a few edits to the previous chapters however not much has changed so if you want to go read back in chapter 1, go ahead so it makes sense :) in the last chapter, I had only mentioned that he would be happy to see Sansa and Jon however I have not stated they are travelling together. As I said if you’d like to go back and re read then go ahead, just to help clear things up. Thank you guys! :) 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is supporting this story! i honestly didnt think i would get much reads but we are growing daily! thank you angels! enjoy <3  
> this was so rushed! so sorry for the errors but enjoy :)  
> 

The first thing that Gendry had immediately noticed as soon as they had stepped foot in Kings Landing was the incredibly awful smell that wafted through the carriage, tickling his nose. He almost gagged at the ghastly smell, only to find bits and pieces of his childhood memories flashing through his mind almost instantly, as if his body instantly  _ remembered _ this place on it’s own. 

 

“Good god, that smell is  _ awful”  _ Agnes whines beside him as she closes the window shut from her side of the carriage shutting the silk curtains close. “It’s horrendous! How can anyone actually live here?”. Gendry wanted to roll his eyes. Agnes had never known poverty in her life. She grew up amongst the castle walls, being tended and taken care of every second in her life so he was not surprised at her reaction. Instead of reacting out of irritation, he simply reached out to grab her hand before pressing it up to his lips gently. 

“The city itself is actually quite nice. Once we’ve settled, we can explore the grounds if you’d like.” he says to her, gripping her hand gently in his as she stares at him oddly before releasing a small chuckle, as if she was mocking him. “Lovely offer but no thank you. I would rather sew the lovely new prince a gift!”. Gendry couldn’t help but feel a light pang in his chest from disappointment as his stare wavers momentarily before he shakes his head and forces a smile. “Of course”. 

 

A confused expression dazes over her face but before she begins to open her mouth, she is cut off by the voice of one of the coachmen from above, “We are entering the Red Keep now, my lord”. Gendry almost immediately drops Agnes hand as he moves over closer towards his window, drawing the curtain as he gazes at the view, almost as if he was a giddy boy.  The view of the Red keep had never failed to astonish him, even when he was just a boy. The daunting towers that were structured beautifully sat upon Aegon’s Hill which overlooked the Blackwater Bay, was complemented by the sun as the summers hot rays gleamed like bronze lights upon it. The amount of times Gendry as a child had wished to finally be able to step within the red keep had become a hopeless dream, but now, it was his reality. His eyes glazed over the botanic gardens that were tended to as some of the workers had looked up at him and even waved. Gendry had smiled in response. 

 

“Are you nervous?” Agnes asks him, ignoring the awkward tensive silence that had occurred before as he snaps his eyes back onto hers. She looked beautiful in the light as her long blonde hair was braided neatly into a low bun just above her left collarbone. She had fitted on a baby blue dress bedazzled with a few shiny diamonds along the bottom of her skirt as her skin sweated against the heat. Gendry shakes his head. “It’s normal to be right? I mean, I haven’t seen the King and the Dragon Queen in so long and now-” Agnes quickly snatched up the last words before she slams her lips against his, Gendry immediately responding. Before it could get any deeper, she pulled away, flustered and out of breath.    
  


‘“I love you” She bluntly states out as her bottom lip quivers, her kind eyes peering at him with endless love as she awaits his response. He looks back at her oddly before cocking a brow. “You’re being weird Agnes, are you okay?” He teasingly adds as she giggles at his statement before playfully hitting him on the arm. A slight bump on the road causes both of them to jolt up as Gendry holds her arm and pulls her close to him as she sighs against his chest. “It’s nothing. I just love you, is all” 

 

Gendry felt his heart pang at her words. No one had ever said they loved him before. Not even his own mother when he was a child had said that to him. The first moment she had said it to him after a few months of being together felt like the best day of his life.  _ Someone had actually cared about him. Someone wanted him, and him alone  in their life.  _ And from then on, she took every chance to say it. Almost as if she would never let him forget it. Although she had her moments, Gendry had nothing but immense attraction towards her. Gendry wildly smiles back at her before pressing his lips against her temple, holding her tight against him. He loved her. He was sure of it.  _ So why did he feel his stomach drop at the thought of saying it back?  _ Swallowing his words, he shakes his anxious thoughts. Before Gendry could open his mouth to reply, he feels the carriage coming to a halt and then a stop as Gendry looks out the window in confusion. “We’re here, my lord” The coachmen retorts loudly as Gendry winces at the tone. The door swings open to reveal a few of his men from Storm’s end lined up in formation, guarding the door as he roughly exits the carriage. The light sea breeze flutters past him cooling against his hot skin as Gendry shivers. The heat of the sun is hot against his tanned skin as he adjusts his armour before inhaling the scent of the ocean. He missed home already. They had left merely two weeks ago and the feeling of homesickness began to turmoil inside him. He missed the safety and security he felt at home. He missed the peaceful evenings of the waves crashing against the rocks as it reflected feelings of calm and ease. He almost closed his eyes briefly before he feels a squeeze on his shoulder. He turns around to see Agnes, mouth dangling in awe. 

 

“It’s beautiful..” She protests as she elegantly walks through the courtyard of the red keep, her footsteps grazing noisily against the golden pavement. She wasn’t wrong. Even as Gendry stood there, he tried to remain his composure and try not to run around and explore. “I told you” he teases as she shoots him a childish look before composing herself. “My lord, the queen’s hands awaits you” Ser Davo exclaims as they both turn around to see Ser Davos mounting off his horse. “Lead the way” Gendry mutters to him as they all continue to follow Ser Davos through the court yard and deeper into the castle, as they approach the entrance. Gendry’s eyes fall onto Tyrion Lannister, the imp who stood beside another man, one he had met a long time ago during the Battle of Winterfell. They stood at the entrance of the door as they all nod their heads in respect to Gendry. 

 

“My Lord, it is good to see you-” Tyrion Lannister says to Gendry as he lets out a smile towards him. He looks towards Agnes as he approaches her before gently grabbing her hand as he places a kiss on it. “My lady” Gendry looks at the odd exchange that had just occurred before him as he glances beside him to see Agnes blushing furiously. An awkward tensive hold falls over.  _ Well that had been odd,  _ Gendry thought to himself. Suddenly, the tension is broken when the bald man beside Tyrion Lannister speaks up.  

 

“The last Baratheon..” he pauses awkwardly as his eyes shuffle up and down and almost examining Gendry. He shares an odd look with Ser Davos as he shakes his head and clears his throat. “Is everything okay here, Varys?” ‘Varys’ seems to shake his head, a smirk falling onto his lips. “Just wanted to know if the rumours true. The boy is an exact replica of Robert when he was a boy” Gendry had almost always heard numerous stories from everyone that the black haired bastard was an exact model of his father, Robert Baratheon back in his day. Lean, tall, chiseled and muscled, (although Gendry’s was due to working as a blacksmith), thick black hair and striking blue eyes, the resemblance was an easy similarity. Varys shakes his head before beckoning his head to motion them to follow. “They await in the throne room” 

 

As they all began to walk, Gendry couldn’t surpass the surprised noises that squeaked out of him. The castle had nothing on Storms end as the high ceilings was drenched in a pasty brown with paintings hanging off the walls with color framed windows, shining through the sun’s glare right through. He watched as the workers of the castle moved and bustled around and about as they walked down a stretched hallway, the sound of the armour on his men clanking against the ground. They continued walking until they reached a larger door than even before that carefully carved with beautiful patterns amongst it. The knights pushed through the door and there, stood afar in the distance was the Iron Throne, the chair that had been fought over centuries causing bloodshed and dishonour to every noble house in Westeros. However, beside the chair was another chair, that although was in the same size, was uniquely different was instead it was drenched and coated in an icy white, contrasting against the swords chair beside it.  He felt Agnes slide her hand through his as she squeezes it tightly as they walk through the empty room, Gendry purposefully avoiding eye contact with the male figure who sat on the ice chair while the female figure sat upon the other. They stop before Varys and Tyrion as they immediately bow. 

 

He hears Ser Davo’s approach just behind him. “Presenting Lord Gendry of House Baratheon, last of his name and Warden of the Storm Lands, accompanied by his betrothed Agnes Baker of House Estermont” his loud voices booms behind Gendry. Gendry looks up from his knelt position on the floor as he stares up to see King Jon Snow smiling wide as he marches down the steps beneath the two chairs that sat atop. The king stops right before him as Gendry looks down at his shoes, bowing his head respectfully. “Your grace” 

 

Jon gestures his hand movement to Gendry ushering him to get up and as he does, the following sound of the rest of his men standing up in notion catches his attention momentarily. Their eyes lock together as The King offers Gendry a wide smile. It had seemed the years hadn’t done him justice as Jon Snow, although still considerably still small had grown and matured. He was still incredibly good looking just as he had last seen. His thick hair was neatly tied up in a half bun as his long usual blackbeard was trimmed neatly. The wrinkles on the corner of his eyes framed his wandering eyes which was  filled heavy with happiness. Before Gendry can catch his mouth, he lets out a small smile. 

 

There is a sudden awkwardness in between the interaction before the king opens his mouth. “You’ve gotten thin boy” He comments on his appearance as a teaseful looks beckons on his face. It catches Gendry off guard for a small gist of a moment as he ignores the low gasp that he hears beside him before he clears his throat. “You’re still short I see, my king”. The king’s smile falters for a second and Gendry almost feels bad, if it wasn’t for the twinkling gleam of mischief etched onto his face. Jon lets out a loud laugh before enveloping Gendry in a bear hug. 

 

“Aye, look at you now lad. Lord of Storm's end!” Jon exclaims as they both pull back from the hug and fall back. Gendry only nods his head in response. “Look at  _ us _ , you mean. From bastards to a Lord and a King. Our fathers would merely laugh” Gendry hadn’t meant to tie their conversation back to their fathers. After all, Gendry had never known really personally known the infamous, Robert Baratheon. He had only ever heard stories of the ‘Fat king’ who was once a beast warrior in battle but became a lazy drunken mess, whoring around to every women in King’s Landing. But he did manage to learn, from the many stories he heard growing up, was that Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon had become like brothers. They had grown up and fought alongside each other in which they became both honourable young men who did not crave power, but instead loyalty and family. The irony of their two bastard sons gaining status and titles would be something to laugh. Jon shakes his head in response in a playful manner before patting him lightly on the back. 

 

“Jon”  Both of the men cock their gaze up sideways to reveal the Dragon Queen standing their above all of them in her glory,  cradling an infant in her arms. She was small in her stature as her strikingly blonde hair was neatly braided as it lay low just rising above her waist. She was dressed in a magnificent slim white dress that was pleated with maroon patterns to compliment the exterior of her skirt. The Dragon Queen was rumoured to be beautiful but as Gendry stared up at her, he realised that it wasn’t her physical appearance that he felt the beauty. It was the way the queen moved dashingly in her actions as she radiated off kindness and love, projecting nothing but positivity. Gendry somewhat felt admiration towards her as he watches her ascend down the stairs, offering him a slight bow of her head in respect before placing the child in Jon’s arms. “My Lord” she greets him as Gendry bows and bends down once more before standing up again. “My Queen”. Gendry almost walks back over to Jon to see the cradled infant before he hears a throaty cough from behind. They all turn their heads to see Agnes, Ser Davos, his squire Lancel and a few of his knights standing there. 

 

Gendry felt like an idiot as he saw Agnes’s face growing increasingly frustrated by the minute as she stood afar, watching them in almost jealousy. He brushes it off as the heat of the sun as he strides over in confidence and lays out a hand in which Agnes almost immediately accepts as she slips hers though, smiling pretensely “You didn’t even introduce me properly” she says between her gritted teeth, smiling as they walk back over to Jon. Gendry looks at her wildly in utter confusion, tempted to reply back with a comment but he is cut off when a loud cry is heard. All thoughts of confusion and despair towards Agnes soon flew out the door as they approached Jon, both staring down at the pink newborn in his arms. The boy was small, although quite chubby was draped in a fabric of silk as his pink fingers gripped the edge of the blanket. Gendry stared down at him in awe as they admired the future king of Westeros.  _ He would be a great leader, _ Gendry thought to himself as he smiled, imagining the near future.  Jon soon hands the child over to Daenerys. 

 

“Come, my old friend. We have plenty to discuss” Jon ushers as he grabs Gendry’s arm, beckoning him to follow him out of the Great Hall.The Queen simply rolls her eyes at her husband’s giddy manner as she continues to admire the babe in her arms. He looks back at see Jon who was now hugging the life out of Ser Davos a few metres away as Gendry grins at the interaction. He knew Jon and Davos had been close and that he too was a father figure to Jon. Before he could walk off, he hears Agnes lowly clearing her throat in frustration as she turns her back to Gendry before sending him an annoyed stare. His brows furrowed in confusion at her as he squeezes her hand in assurance. She simply looks defeated as she inhales a small sigh before nodding her head in dismay, peering at him with the ‘We will talk later’ eyes before turning her attention to the queen. “Come with me-” Gendry hears Daenerys say to Agnes as Agnes curtsies in response nodding her head. “-let the men talk. I’d like to get to know you better” Agnes looked almost as if she was about to faint as she let out a low squeak of a ‘yes’ before smiling at him and walking off with the dragon queen. Gendry looked back at them before they turned off a corner until he hears a shout come from behind. 

 

And without a second further, Gendry smiles before he walks away in happiness towards Jon, reuniting once again with an old friend. 

  
  



	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's a bit rushed so ignore all of my spelling edits!

Gendry couldn’t remember the last time he had finally felt familial happiness and joy as he bellowed in laughter, slamming his hand in excitement against the table from laughing. He and the king, along with Ser Davos, Samwell Tarly, whom Gendry recalled meeting all those years ago, Ser Jorah Mormont and Tyrion all sat together huddled on a table that stood right outside on one of the larger balconies of the castle. The moon was bright, it’s luminescent glow glaring down lightly across the Red Keep as the torches were lit like flickering glow worms in the distance.  There was a small innkeep for the knights just below the balcony and the men all watched as the knights and men of King's Landing bustled about, loud shouts and the soft occasional moaning roaring in the background. The night was still young, the hot summer day had cooled down and cool fresh breezes swayed softly against Gendry’s skin. 

 

Gendry enjoyed the company. Here, they all sat, as old men enjoying and retelling their most memorable memories encountering back on the wars that had taken place in the past, almost mocking the past rulers of King’s Landing. Tyrion slammed his cup down across the table as Jorah snickered. “You’re bloody disgusting, I’ll tell you that now!”, Tyrion let out a cocky smirk before refilling his cup with ale. Davos shook his head in the background. “You may be small but that damn brain of yours is a wonder”. The men had shifted through different stories, many ranging from the first time they had ever slept with someone or to when they killed their first man. Tyrion, who was known to be a whore back in his days, had finished up his story, laughing back at the tale he told of the men he’d scammed. The king shook his head. Suddenly his gaze was hot on Gendry. 

 

“Gendry, have you ever slept with someone?” 

 

Gendry almost choked on his wine that managed to get stuck halfway through his throat. He lets out a strangled cough as he feels Sam pat his back roughly to comfort him. Since he was a boy, he was never the type of man to expose his business to others, especially since he had always believed that telling your secrets to others gives them a lever over you. But in the moment, he felt conflicted. It was simply not fair that he was the only one not to share stories about his intimate personal life while the rest often told the whole world about every women or man they had slept with. Gendry shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Tyrion’s eyes widen, “Wait.. you’re not a virgin are you?”. At this point, his cheeks had turned crimson red as he shakes his head violently. Who cares if he told them his business?  _ They were his friends _ he thought to himself as he shakes away his anxious thoughts before composing himself. “Not in the way I’d have liked but no, I am not a virgin” 

 

Silence awkwardly fell across the table as Jorah looked at him wildly, Sam staring at him with disbelief while Tyrion smirked. The king simply lifted his brow as they lifted their cups to drink. “I’m guessing it was Arya?” Sam curiously asked as he stares at him with intensity. Suddenly, it felt as if the room had stopped. His heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach as he let his mouth open to dangle in the shape of an ‘O’. He hadn’t heard anyone else other than himself say her name in years. It was like a forbidden word for him. He didn’t want to think or speak on her name. Arya Stark, Lady of Winterfell, The King’s sister and  _ the girl who broke his heart in half.  _ He didn’t even want to move a twitch as he could feel all eyes on him. 

 

“Arya? Why would Gendry sleep with Arya? That’s my sister!” He hears Jon retort back to Sam as Tyrion raises his brow in confusion and almost mysteriously before downing another cup of ale. He turns towards Jon who stares at him curiously yet almost angry as he watched Jon stare at him with intensity. He was so nervous Gendry could feel swear starting to drip down his back. Jon stares at him almost got a second longer before letting out  a humorous smile, shaking his head as he bows his head towards Sam. “You’re funny aren’t ya’. You’re talking about my sister who killed the Night King. She barely lets anyone hug her let alone…”. Sam laughs awkwardly before shifting glances to Gendry. Gendry felt his mouth dry up like sandpaper. “They don’t know each other” Jon lastly added to his statement. Sam shook his head. “T-they travelled together when they were younger and Bran said- 

 

Gendry wanted to die. He was quick to cut him off. “No it was not Arya, why would you think that? Yes, we may have travelled together once or twice but I haven’t see Arya in how many years. To be quite frank, I forgot what she looked like-“ He has begun rambling nonsense until Davos clears his throat awkwardly as he locks eyes with Gendry causing him to want to curl up in a ball and die from humiliation. Jon continued to stare at him oddly.  How did Bran Stark know that they had travelled together? Had Arya told him? He could feel his heart starting to pick up its pace in his chest as he saw quick bits and pieces of images, face swarming his mind. Suddenly he felt sick. He could feel all the feelings of pain, heart ache, love and lust all overwhelming him at once he suddenly felt as if his throat was tight and he was desperately trying to breathe for air. He suddenly pushed his chair out causing a freak to break the men’s conversation as he stood up. He just wanted to rest. It had been a long day. He turns his gaze amongst the men to see that they had all engaged in a conversation all bumping back from the awkward conversation that was held. 

 

“A’right lads. I think I’m off to bed” Gendry loudly states as they all stare him, Tyrion whining his seat as he shakes his head childishly. “But the night is still young! There is plenty more to discuss!” Jorah nods his head in response to Tyrion. Jon looked at him oddly. He gulps nervously. “I’m just tired from the journey is all. Besides an early morning tomorrow-“ Gendry walks around before pushing his chair in. Jon stands up and all the men follow his notion. “-your Grace, if you’ll excuse me. I’m tiresome from my journey” And with that, Gendry waved bye to the group, their jumbled responses of ‘bye’ ringing through his ears as he walks away from the table and through the castle. As he strides through the castle, the torches flickering against the wall, he suddenly hears a shout from behind him. 

 

“Wait!” 

 

Gendry whips around to see the now empty corridor to see Jon walking up towards him, almost looking at him with sympathy.  _ Please don’t let it be about Arya. He had enough of thinking about her  _ he thought to himself. Jon fumbles on his words before taking a deep sigh. “You haven’t seen Arya in years, you said before?” Gendry gave him a confused look as he just nodded his head slowly. Jon ran a hand through his hair before squeezing his chin in a ‘thinking’ manner. He looked worried, but most of all confused as Gendry saw Jon’s shoulders tense. “W-why what happened? I thought she had returned home to Winterfell”, Jon just slightly nodded, the light from the torch glowering over his face like a shadow. “Aye, she did. After the Great War, she went back to Winterfell. For a while. And then she disappeared along with the Hound. She said that she’ll be gone for a while, not too long but it’s been  four years. I haven’t seen her” 

 

Suddenly, he felt unease starting to kick in as his breath hitched. Four years since the king, lady sansa and the whole of Winterfell had last seen her. He assumed that after the war, Arya would’ve stayed back in Winterfell alongside her family. After all, throughout the years Gendry remembers being with her, she had always spoke so highly of her family. Ned, Robb, Jon and even Sansa. A confused expression etched onto his face as he felt his stomach drop. I _ f no one had seen her for all those years, was she even alive?  _ The thought made him quiver slightly as he shakes his head. It was Arya Stark. She wasn’t a lady but a survivor. A fighter. If there was anyone more capable in looking after themselves it would be her. He could feel Jon’s intense stare on him as Jon’s words started to repeat over in his head. The hound had left alongside with her.  _ A beautiful girl and a knight all alone, travelling together side by side. Why was the Hound even with her _ ? He knew that all those years ago she had gone off with him, as a girl, to go back to find her family. But she wasn’t a girl anymore. She was becoming a woman. And a beautiful one at that too. His heart clenched tightly in his chest. He had heard many stories about Sandor Clegane, the infamous beast who was known to be brutal in battle, a savage mainly in raping girls and pillaging villages, stealing from others.  _ Had he kidnapped Arya? Forced her to come with him? He had raped her?  _ Gendry didn’t notice his hand had curled up into a small fist until Jon snapped him out of his thoughts. “Gendry?” 

 

Looking up, Jon stares at him with a confused look. He was right to be confused. He wasn’t sure that he knew, he and Arya knew each other.  _ A little too much _ . Gendry shakes his head before running a hand through his rugged hair. “I-I didn’t know your grace”. Jon watched him for a second before sighing and patting him lightly on the shoulder. “I was just goin’ to ask if you had ever seen her. If she had maybe travelled by through the Storm Lands or-” Gendry felt his heart pick up it’s pace. Had he missed her all those years? Had he been too blind with his new life to realise that she was right under his nose? “-It was just wishful thinking. But anyways, enjoy your night my lord” And with that, he watched as the king turned his back before walking down and out of the corridor, leaving Gendry almost speechless. 

  
  


-

 

That night, Gendry couldn’t sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, his mind all over the place as images of his first love began to rumble through his mind. This had been the first night in over two years since he couldn’t sleep, laying awake as Arya Stark plagued his mind like a disease. He wasn’t sure how he felt. Confused, worried, uneasy. He tried to ignore the feelings that swarmed his stomach but it was useless. This whole time he had believed she was safe, at home in Winterfell. But instead, she was out there in the world once again, all by herself. And it didn’t help as he could see his restless thoughts burrowing deep into the worst case scenarios. He briefly closes his eyes as he feels his memories starting to flood back. Ever since they had stepped into King’s Landing, he began to see images of her coming back with more precision and image. He could now remember her thick shapely structured brows and her thin pink lips. He could remember the slight creases that rested under her eyes as her eyes lit as, smiling. His heart grappled in his chest. He couldn’t breathe. 

 

Sitting up, Gendry turns over to see Agnes draped in her white undergarments underneath the blanket as her chest slowly rising, her breathing and the cackling of the fire from the fireplace tuning in sync together. She had been asleep by the time he had entered the room. Agnes had insisted that they share a room since they were soon to be wed to each other. Although it seemed improper, Gendry didn’t mind. They had shared a bed together many times. Their belongings had all been spread out, the clothes and chest put in their places respectively. The room itself was big. The large bed in the middle was draped with curtains for privacy as a small table was situated on the far right accompanied by ale and cups. The large cupboard was on the other side of the room as three chests all sat beside it, along with a mirror. The room was the same size as Gendry’s room back home at Storm's End. He was happy. He was just fine with any bed. 

 

Throwing the blanket off his body before swinging his legs over off the bed, he staunts over towards the small table and beings pouring himself a cup of ale before walking towards the balcony, resting his arms on the ledge. Although the night was dark and starry, he could make out the familiar courtyard beneath him. The courtyard itself was designed beautifully as it had been structured to look like a park. There was no noise, except for the fire crackling loudly in the back. He took a sip of his wine. He wished the conversation that took place earlier had gone in a different way. Maybe if Sam hadn’t mentioned Arya at all, he wouldn’t feel his heart aching with every movement he took. But then again, maybe it was Gendry’s own fault that he had reacted that way. Sighing in conflict with himself,  he stands up straight and is almost about to turn around back to the bed before something catches his eye. 

 

It was too dark to tell but as his heart raced wildly in his chest, he was so sure of it. Placing his cup beside him, he rubs his eyes as he squints into the darkness. Just underneath the balcony, he caught the sight of a figure standing there in the darkness staring up at him. His eyes attempt to adjust to the lighting as he squints harder. And suddenly, his stomach drops. It was her. He can feel his body heathen as he feels shivers running down his spine. He stands there for a good five seconds before gulping nervously blinking in disbelief as it was too hard to believe. But as he stared down, she was gone in a flash.  He had panicked. Was it her? Before Gendry could comprehend what he was doing, he slipped on his shoes before running out of the room almost immediately and running towards the courtyard. 

 

Gendry hadn’t run that fast in years. As he passed through the empty hollow corridors, he feels himself panicking as sweat dribbles down his forehead. It was her. He knew that as if it was fact. Although it was hard to make out her face in the darkness, he  _ felt _ like it was her. Or maybe he wanted to believe it. As he turned a sharp corner, he was met with a crisp cold wind breezing past him. He was too focused to even think about being cold as he walks through and around the empty courtyard, circling the area as he feels his excitement dying down. There was no one there. The owls hooted in the background as Gendry walked over towards the large oak tree that stood before him. There was nothing but emptiness here. 

 

He felt stupid. He didn’t know what he was thinking. How could he immediately think based on his emotions that the slight sight of a figure in the darkness was her as he assumed. Gendry wanted to punch himself. All this talk about Arya and now, he imagined that she was here. He runs a hand through his hair in frustration before taking a seat on the cold pavement seats before burying his head in his palms. His heart was beating wildly in his chest as he could feel all his emotions swarming into one. He didn’t know how much longer he could do this. The constant continuation of breaking his own heart. For years after she had left and he was by himself every night,  he had almost hated her. She was selfish. She had chosen herself over him the night she rejected his proposal. He didn’t understand in why she didn’t chose him.  _ Did she not love him just as much as he loved her? _ But as the years grew on and he had matured greatly, he began to understand. Of course she chose herself. By the way Gendry had worked his proposal, he had always known that she wasn’t a lady. And that she never wanted to be.  Only, Gendry had been a complete idiot to not understand that earlier. It was selfish of him to ask her to chose him. He remembers uttering the words that becoming a lord would be nothing without her if she wasn’t by his side. He had been too much of a romantic to think that she would chose him and drop everything, her sense of freedom, just as much as he chose her. She wasn’t obliged to chose him. Maybe that’s what angered Gendry the most in himself. That he was ready to drop everything and put his heart on the line for her. And she wouldn’t do the same. And he began to understand that, that was okay.  _ He had been selfish in asking her to chose him.  _ To chose her own sense of freedom and create her own story was something Arya had always wanted. Instead, he was dumb. He, along with his high hopes and wishful thinking dreamed and desperately hoped that she would pick him. It was stupid of him, he admitted. How he wished he could go back in time and fix things. To say that instead of ruling together, he wanted to support her. To let her know that it was okay for her to travel, to explore and to enjoy life. That was called living. Now after realising this, Gendry began to put himself first. He began to slowly accept the role of being a Lord and accepting that this was fate’s course. He realises that he didn’t need love. He needed a family more. And that was what he wished he had asked her instead. But of course he still loved her. She was his first love. But she had left a hole in his heart and life that being the Lord of storms end could fix. But there was no way in the seven hells that Gendry could forget or even hate her as much as he tried. The only thing he hated was the feelings and pain the sound of her name triggered.  He loved her. He knew deep down he w _ as stil _ l in love with her. But maybe it was never meant to be. 

 

Gendry hadn’t realised he was crying until he lifted his head up from his palms, his hands full of wet tears. He wipes it on his draws before wiping away the corner of his eyes. He sighs. He needed to get some sleep. As Gendry stands up and begins walking away through the darkness of the night, he stops when he sees a figure in front of him. 

 

His heart drops. 

 

“Gendry” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update! I just watched the season finale and i just keep imaging that Gendry is below deck on the ship, waiting to sail and explore with her! Thank you for the never ending support this story has gotten! please excuse the errors this was so so so rushed! enjoy x

He couldn’t breathe.

 

It felt like the wind had been punched out of him as his breath hitched and his heart clenched tightly in his chest, squeezing tightly as if he had a hand wrapped around it. Despite the young nights chilly wind bristly breezing softly against his warm skin, he felt frozen in his spot. He couldn't move. He felt impaled and speechless as his movements all halt. It was as if the world had stopped and turned in slow motion as Gendry’s eyes rake up the sight he had been begging and wishing to see for years. She stands before him, the moonlights glossy reflection reflecting against her, almost as if she was a phantom ghost. Goosebumps travelled down his spine as he could feel his mind going wild. Was it really her? After all this time? His heart felt as if it was about to give out at any moment. 

  
  


“Arya” 

 

She was still beautiful. After all the years away from her and her fading image in the back of Gendry’s mind that was buried for so long, it couldn’t compare to the beauty he saw right in front of his eyes as he feels overwhelmed. He didn’t realise he had said her name almost as a soft whisper until he nervously gulps. She hadn’t changed. Apart from her brunette hair that was tied up in a small bun from behind, she had grown a few inches taller. She was dressed in the same clothes he had always remembered her in and for a split second, he remembers. All the memories they had together during the Battle of Winterfell to their time almost as if years ago when they had travelled together suddenly flew back into him. He didn’t want to move. He felt afraid too. He was scared that in a blink of an eye, she would disappear just as she did so many years ago. He didn’t want to stop staring at her. He blinks. Then blinks again. Was this real? Had he been imagining this? 

 

“It’s been a while” She finally croaks out, breaking the silence. 

 

Gendry is snapped back to reality as he stares back at her, in awe. Where had she been? Why was she here? So many thoughts were swirling around his mind like crazy he didn’t realise that his hand was tightly closed in a fist. He lets out a small sigh of relief before releasing his grip and adjusting his stature. He didn’t know how to feel. Happy? Confused? He tries to ignore his heart beating away so fast in his chest, almost as if it would give him away on how nervous he was. He gulps once more before nodding. “It has” 

 

She doesn’t say anything, continuing to take in his sight and presence almost as if he was a prey. Gendry felt as if he was to pass out. He could properly feel it now.  Through all the emotions that flowed through him and coursed its way through his body, he begins to feel the heartbreak, pain and immense love he had for Arya Stark. She had plagued his mind, heart and soul for years and now it began to resurface like a crab coming out of hiding. The broken pieces of her face that he had pieced together and from the last time he had seen her had done her no justice. She was still so beautiful. It couldn’t have even have been compared to the image that radiated his mind. He wanted to hug her. To swallow her whole in his arms and never let her go but another small part of him wanted to run and hide away forever. But he couldn't’. And he didn't’ want too. He wanted to remember the moment he finally saw her, after all these years. 

 

“What are you doing here?” He felt like an idiot. At that moment, he wanted to punch himself in the face. Why would he ask her that? She had no duty to respond to his comment. He didn’t have the authority to ask that from her. Or maybe he never did. He was surprised however, that he didn’t manage to choke on his words. He watches for a second before he sees her walking over slowly closely towards him, halting until she was only a metre away from him. His heart dropped to his stomach as he finally looked at her closely. The scar that had been left as a reminder of her battle against the night king had turned into a dent just on top of her right brow. She had a few scratches on the side of her face but Gendry ignored it. Her thin pink lips were sealed shut as her big doe eyes stare back at him. She had changed. Only growing a few inches taller, she looked thin. Her round face was no longer as her cheekbones were more slightly prominent. Her brown hair was tied up in a bun behind her and at that split second, he wanted to kiss her. But he couldn’t. 

 

“I came back for Jon. I heard him and the queen had a son”. Of course she would’ve came back for Jon. After all, he had been her closest brother while they grew up together. He stood there silently, taking in her words before nodding. An awkward tensive hold shifts over the pair as they take in each other, still unsure if they are seeing something real. He hadn’t realised how much he missed her until she watched him eye him up and down. His heart swelled tightly in his chest as he tries to ignore and suppress the feelings he had been so good at hiding. But seeing her stand before him in all her glory made Gendry want to drop to his knees. 

 

“And you?” She asks, cocking her brow up at him in curiosity. He was unsure on how he had managed to reply back without choking on his own saliva. At that moment, he just wanted to run and hide. “I guess it appears we're here for the same reason.” She stares at him before a small smile escapes her lips, her eyes lighting up. His heart almost gave out. “Y-you look good” Gendry stutters breaking the silence and he internally groans. He was twitching and felt nervous under her intense gaze. For a split second, he wanted nothing more than to just hide under a rock forever. Its quiet for a while before she responds, nodding her head. “You too-” she says before taking a quick glance to her left before shifting her attention back onto him. “- You still lord of the storms end?”. He knew she hated titles. He had too. For once in his life since becoming a lord, he suddenly felt embarrassed. He didn’t want to be known to her as a lord. He wanted her to see he was still Gendry Waters, the bastard boy of Robert Baratheon she had once travelled and accompanied with. 

 

“Aye, I am” He quickly states, shrugging away all of his nagging thoughts. “Where have you been all this time?”. She sighs slightly, her shoulders heaving up and down before walking past behind him as he whips around to follow her. He catches a familiar scent as she walks by, the smell of the forest and fire whiffing through the air as she takes a seat on the bench from where he had previously sat. He walks towards her before halting a few metres away. He needed to keep his distance. He wasn’t sure on why he bothered asking. It was highly unlikely that she would respond. She shrugs her shoulders in reply as she cocks her head sideways and stares up at him. “Around. There are more things to life than castles and ranks”. For a split second, he felt jealous swell. He was jealous of her free will and freedom. He assumed she had travelled to many places around the world, exploring and sightseeing new places, new cities, new people. He wanted that. Often, he had dreamt of that. Being able to follow your heart's desire and travelling unknown places. However, that was simply not fates course. 

 

“Any good out there?” 

 

She smiles once more. “Yeah” 

 

It was silent between them after her reply. The wind whistling softly in the background as the night owl hoots in the distance, Gendry suddenly wonders on how different his life would’ve been if he had joined her.  _ Would he have been like her? Roaming around the free cities of Braavos and travelling to new continents?  _  If only he had rejected that stupid title the Queen had given him. Or better yet, maybe if he was never a bastard in the first place, then maybe, just maybe. He would’ve had a chance of fulfilling the life that his mind had created for him. “Do I have to call you my lord now?” 

 

He shakes his head before scoffing. Everyone in his life called him that. Even Agnes seemed to always refer back to that title. He hated titles since the beginning. Despite his title and status, in that moment, he just wanted to be called Gendry. Just as any other person. And he knew Arya knew that he hated it. Was she subtly flirting with him? A small smile presses onto his lips.  “Do not call me that”, she smiles in response. For once and since their entirety of knowing each other, he noticed that she was smiling. More than often, she was finally being Arya Stark again. The same young annoying girl who he had fallen in love with in the first place. He felt his stomach swirl. 

 

“He’s beautiful you know. They haven’t properly given him a name yet but tomorrow night at the feast, they will announce it” He wasn’t sure why he was telling her that. He knew he was nervous rambling but he couldn’t stop, his hand slightly twitching. She nods her head. “I wish Jon would name him after our father. He’ll be a good man just like Jon and just like him”. Gendry could only let out a soft sympathetic smile. She had always looked up to her family. Her brothers, sisters but more so, her father. He was executed on false accusations when she was still a girl and the horrors she had endured to get where she was now was something he would always admire her for. “That will be nice” 

 

The silence isn’t awkward this time. Instead, they stare at each other with a longing look of passion, intensity and .. love? He wasn’t sure. But deep down, Gendry wished that it was true. Maybe someday, she would finally profess her love to him. But that was another one of his childish dreams. Suddenly, she stands up from her seat before striding closer towards him. He feels his insides twisting tight in his body with anticipation until she is close to him that he feels her body warmth through the cold night. “It was good seeing you” 

 

His breath hitches, before he lets out a soft exhale and nodding his head awkwardly. He didn’t want her to go. “Y-yeah, you too.” She stares at his face once more with intensity before letting out a small smile and turning around as she walks away. Gendry doesn’t realise she’s walking away from him halfway through the courtyard until he calls out. “How long are you planning on staying?” He shouts out to her. She stops midway her tracks before turning her head over her shoulder. She is expressionless, her eyes piercing into him like a hawk.  “Not for long”.  _ No!  _ He thought to himself. He had only just seen her after so many years of being apart from each other. He couldn’t just let her go. Or let her leave. He wanted her to say. He needed her to stay. He wanted to pass by her in the halls of the castle or peep glances to her when she wasn’t looking. He wanted it to be just the way it was so many years ago. Gendry didn't realise how much she affected him until he feels his heart beat coming to a slow. 

 

Before his mind could register his next words, his mouth betrays him. “Stay” 

 

She looks back on his words for a moment and he felt sick to his stomach. What had possessed him to say that? Was he trying to scare her off? Suddenly, she lets out a soft smile before nodding. 

 

“Okay”

 

And without a further ado, he watches her back as she walks away, disappearing into the darkness, leaving him once again, alone and cold. 

  
  



	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update everybody! this chapter is kind of boring and really rushed but it is important to storyline so i had to add it. this is really rushed and i havent properly edited it so bare with me. thank you again for all the lovely feedback and kudos ive received!

The next morning all seemed like a blur to Gendry. The first sound he heard when he woke up was the mindless chatter and constant bustle from servants that echoed through the castle hallways, filled with preparation for the tournament that was to occur later mid afternoon. He felt restless after last night’s antics, fidgeting constantly and observing every inch of movement as he alongside Agnes, had taken a stroll through the castle and out towards the blissful garden. 

 

“Are you even listening to me?” 

 

Gendry snatched himself out of his daze as his eyes meet an annoyed Agnes, peering up at him confusion and slight frustration. “Yes of course” 

 

He wasn’t. Of course he wasn’t. That had been the third time she had asked him since they left their early chambers this morning. He was distracted, conflicted and somewhat nervous. After last night’s incident and seeing Arya once again, Gendry still couldn’t believe it was real. For years, he had been dreaming of this moment to happen. He endlessly imagined all the ways he thought of how they would lock eyes and stare at each other before falling into each others while whispering sweet nothings into each others ear. He perfectly played and rehearsed how the conversation he imagined would go, words flowing strongly and calmly out of his mouth. But of course nothing went to what he thought. Instead, he was clumsy and careless, nonsense ramblings leaving his mouth as he cringes internally at the memory. He wished he’d asked her properly about her life. About her travels and stories from all the places she had explored over time. But he didn’t want to bombard her. He barely just saw her again. 

 

HIs heart begins to pick up it’s pace as the haunting memory of her face expands in his mind. Everything he had managed to remember about her wasn’t what he expected. She was still beautiful, no doubt, but seeing her almost as she was a completely different person made him realise how more beautiful she had grown over time. At one point however, he felt guilty. Agnes lay asleep in their chambers while the love of his life had appeared out of nowhere who was right underneath her nose. He felt like he was sneaking around but Gendry brushed it off. He was merely overreacting. He had only spoken to her. It wasn’t as if they had made love or anything. A silent hot blush creeps across his cheeks as the memory creeps into his mind as he lets out a cough out loud, drawing Agnes to stare at him. 

 

“My love, what is wrong with you today? Are you ill? You seem off” Agnes spoke softly to him, halting them in their walk. Her handmaidens were trailing not too far from behind accompanied by one guard. They had paused and looked at them oddly before conversing among themselves. He shakes his head lightly of all his thoughts before grabbing her hand in his and grazing it lightly with a kiss. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t sleep last night”.  _ A lie.  _ She nods her head before quickly pulling her hand back and nodding before resuming their walk through the yard. “You must focus today my lord. I’m sure you and the King have many discussions and proposals to figure out” 

 

Gendry had almost forgotten. He was a lord now, not a young free man. There would often be times were he forgot that he had plenty of lordly duties to attend to, people to look after and children to feed. Sometimes, he missed being in his own little world, hammering away in the forge through the early mornings to late sunsets as he would focus intensely. He knew he could never go back. He couldn’t. He was the last living person who had Baratheon blood in him and there was no way in the seven kingdoms would anyone let him run off and live out in the world. Maybe Ser Davos but certainly not Agnes and the other noble houses in the Storm Lands. He wished plenty  he could simply walk away and explore but he knew deep down that this was his life now. All the comfort and food in the world in exchange for his price of freedom. 

 

He sharply intakes a deep breath before Agnes cocks a side eye towards him, staring warily. Why did he suddenly feel nervous to talk? “The King and I spoke plenty last night. I’m sure there are no major matters to attend to and besides, the tournament is today. I want to be able to spend time with you today”. Agnes halts in her tracks once more before slowly staring at him in disbelief, her eyes squinting. The sun was shining brightly against them as a bead of sweat trickles down his forehead. He wipes it off. “But surely you have pressing urgencies that need to be dealt with immediately, am I right?” She questions almost immediately but he shrugs his shoulders before letting out a small smile. “Maybe, but it’s nothing Ser Davos can’t handle. He’ll be fine”, he peers down at Agnes to see her nervously fidgeting in her hands as she stares down at her feet in confusion, before looking back up at him. “But Ser Davos is not the Lord of the Storms End. You are. You carry Robert Baratheon’s blood” 

 

Suddenly, Gendry felt confused. Agnes seemed to be off lately, always on edge and snapping at him at any chance she could get. Her uneasiness and forcefulness of attending his lordly duties didn’t help either. It was as if they had stepped into King’s Landing and her whole mood had shifted. He was curious but concerned. Had she possibly realised he saw Arya? 

 

Gendry clears his throat, asserting his authority. “Ser Davos was once the hand of my uncle Stannis. He is sure to know more at handling matters better than me and besides, I trust him with my life”. Agnes doesn’t reply back with anything as she stares him for a moment, her frustrated tired eyes staring at him intensely before she drops her gaze and turns away, her blonde hair swaying slightly. Gendry suddenly felt concerned. Had something happened to cause her to act this way? Suddenly, she turns her head and looks at him, her eyes glossy with tears as her body shakes in her movement. He feels his heart drop as he takes a quick glance at her before engulfing her in his arms and swiftly positioning them both over to a seat beside them. Agne’s soft cries echoed through his ears as he held her gently, Gendry kissing the side of her temple slowly as he swayed them back and forth. 

 

“Agnes?” 

 

She doesn’t reply but instead continues to cry harder in his arms. At this point, the handmaidens and guard had left and it was only the two of them in the garden alone as he caressed her softly down her side. She was positioned to sit on his lap, her head buried in his neck as he could feel wet tears sliding down. He was confused. She had randomly burst out into tears and he didn't know what to do. She had never cried in front of him before.  Finally, she looks up from her tearful gaze before staring at him coldly. “I-I did something horrible Gendry”. 

She stares up at him with her cold staring at him deeply, a begging look plastered across her face as pieces of her blonde hair was drenched in tears. His heart rapidly picked up it’s speed as he softly rubbed her back. “What did you do my love?” He gently whispers to her. She stays silent before finally slowing down her tears as she shakes her head. “I-I can’t tell you”. He is silent for a quick moment, confused. They had shared secrets together and had laid intimately together all the time. She was not known to keep secrets from him but however, this secret seemed to terrify her as he watched her breathing slowly return to normal, her bottom lip slightly quivering. He didn’t want to force her to say anything however. He didn’t want to upset her more, so instead he nodded his head at her response before giving her a quick kiss on the temple. She sighs lovingly before wrapping her arms around his neck. 

 

“You'll hate me for it” She whispers softly in his ear. Whatever she was saying did not seem to correlate in his mind as he only nodded mindlessly before gently moving her over to the spot beside him. Gendry stares at her for a hot minute. Everything seemed to happen so quickly, he couldn’t even register what had happened. She had started crying out of nowhere and for some odd reason, she couldn’t tell him. Was that perhaps why she was feeling annoyed and frustrated lately? And why would she say he would hate her for it? What had she done? He shakes his head. This was Agnes he was thinking about. This girl had the heart of gold. She would never do anything to put Gendry at harms way. Would she? Nevertheless, he shook his head in an attempt to reassure her. "There's nothing you could do that will make me hate you" 

 

She smiles softly up at him, sitting in silence. "Are you sure?" 

 

He looks back at Agnes. She has wiped away all evident signs of tears around her eyes and had adjusted her gown and hair to its former place. She looked normal again and he watched with intensity as she sighed before quickly kissing him on the lips. “I love you” she says softly before wrapping her arms once again around his neck as he returns the embrace, engulfing her small body within his large one. He briefly closes his eyes before he hears a slight twitch in the background. He quickly opens his eyes and looks around before he sees movement in the shadows behind the castle column. Gendry is about to move when he squints and realises it was not just anyone but Arya Stark. She was standing there watching him from afar and he felt his heart drop in his chest as his stomach flips upside down. She was gazing closely at them but before Gendry could even blink, she was gone. Just like a phantom, she had appeared and disappeared so suddenly almost as if she wasn’t real. He felt guilty. As he sat there with a beautiful woman draped in his arms crying out in pain, Gendry couldn’t help but feel guilty inside. 

 

Because deep, deep down inside of him, despite it being a split second, Gendry realised he wished it was Arya Stark in his arms. 

  
  



	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another update! once again this chapter was a bit rushed so bare with me with the spelling edits. I had to split this chapter into two parts because it was just so long so next chapter heavily focuses on Arya and Gendry's talk. thank you to everyone who reads this story!

Chapter 7

 

The hot summer day was long, almost endless as Gendry watched the orange sunset from the balcony he was perched on. After the unexpected crying episode that Agnes went through in the morning, she had retired back to their chambers, claiming she was ‘tired’ and needed immediate rest for the feast that was scheduled later that evening but not before begging Gendry to attend his lordly duties. He only nodded in agreement but once she left, he wandered to Ser Davos and asked him to attend on behalf of him. He felt guilty, remembering her constant pleas to go to the meetings. But Gendry didn’t want too. As bad as it seemed, all he wanted to do was explore the Red Keep on his own, left alone with his thoughts. He knew he was a Lord now and had many duties and responsibilities to do but for some odd reason, he just didn’t want too. He hadn’t felt like this in a long time and being in a foreign but familial place made him want to do what he would’ve so badly done as a child. Explore and roam. But what he wanted even more was to be left alone in silence and peace so he could finally gather his thoughts and the overwhelming events that occurred in less than two to four hours.

 

She had been there, hiding behind the tall flowers that boomed through the gardens as she watched with a solemned look plastered across her features. Arya Stark. She must’ve watched the entire encounter because before long, she had disappeared, just like she had the previous night. _Why was she there? Why was she watching him?_ So many questions were swirling through his mind, he felt like his brain could explode. And Agnes too. Her confusing statement of ‘doing something horrible’ plagued his thoughts. _What could Agnes have possibly done to make her believe he would hate her?_ Agnes was a good hearted girl. That’s why he fell for her. She was kind hearted, loving and attentive. He could barely imagine her doing anything bad to him. _Or maybe it was an act_ ? Shrugging his thoughts, Gendry glances over the beautiful horizon that lay fourth in front of him before turning away and walking through the castle towards the main courtyard.  The tournament was about to start soon and he was unsure if Agnes was to attend. His mind lingered on whether he should visit their chambers and ask whether she would be but he doubted it. _She was tired,_ he thought. _Best to leave her alone for a while._

 

Gendry continued to stroll through the torch lit hallways as he made his way down the now familiar staircases and passages, passing by the Great Hall where the servants were loud, cluttering around as they prepared the tables and the meals that were to occur after. The servants bowed and curtsied at him as he walked past and he let out a small awkward smile in acknowledgement before continuing to walk towards the big metal doors that contained the packed courtyard from outside. The closer he approached, the loud sound of harmonious music beating loudly through the air filled his ears as he nervously took a big gulp before walking through. The beautifully decorated courtyard was busy. Every turn and glance Gendry took, he saw many lords and ladies and people of King’s Landing, all dressed in gowns and fine embroidery as they lingered, chatting and laughing effortlessly throughout the early night. The sound of children's laughter echoed loudly through the air as he perks his head up amongst the crowd, desperate to find a familiar face.

 

“Gendry!”

 

He cocks his head around to see his head to see his master of War, Ser Rodrick walking towards him alongside two of his men. The grey and light yellow uniform fitted with the sigil of a stag across the front signalled that they were his men and Gendry had never felt a sense of relief at that moment. “Ser Rodrick” He says before bowing his head in  a short nod. Ser Rodrick bends down on one knee quickly before bowing his head and standing up, “Lord Gendry”. Ser Rodrick had been a clever yet strong man. The moment that Gendry had arrived in Storms End to claim lordship, he, among a few others, was quick without hesitation to swear fealty to his new lord almost immediately. Ser Davos noted that he was once apart of the Lannister gold cloaks in Kings Landing and Gendry was soon to turn his head but after hearing plenty of things about how ruthless Ser Rodrick was in battle ever since he lost his wife and daughter, he began to feel sympathetic for this man. Of course, the people of Storms End did not think too highly of this.  They hated the Lannisters passionately and desired that the new lord of House Baratheon would behead him for his past crimes. But Gendry saw no fault. “My Lord-” Ser Rodrick begins, shaking him out of his thoughts. He stares back up at the old man with wrinkled lines cornering his haunted eyes, “-The king and queen await you. All the lords have already been seated”. He only nods in response before they begin to clear a way, “Take me there”

 

Passing through the busy courtyard, he heard a few mutters and mumbles of ‘my lord’ thrown at him in respect as they often cleared a path for him to walk. He felt almost shy under their judgemental and curious eye but continued to brush it off the warmth of the summer night. The sun had set only a few minutes ago yet the night time colour was still a light blue painted gently through the sky. The gentle leaves swayed blissfully through the wind as it brushed past his rough skin causing a slight shiver to roll down his arms. Finally, after about a minute or two, they reach a clearing surrounded by a few guards of the castle. Tyrion and Bronn are waiting at the steps as the guards stepped aside to let the dwarf and assassin through. “Well, how nice of you to finally join us!” Tyrion said sarcastically as he rolls his eyes,  continuing to walk closer until he stops beneath the steps of the large podium before stepping up. “I must’ve lost track of time-” he begins before Tyrion shakes his head at him continuing to walk through the long tunnel lit with torches. “Do not stress!-” Tyrion begins, passing by a guard, “There is still time to spare. And besides, you’re not the only lord missing”. Gendry only furrows his brows in confusion, about to open his mouth before Bronn cuts him off. “Well, technically she’s not a lord, she’s a queen. And a crazy one at that!”. He watches as Tyrion stops dead in his tracks causing Bronn and him to halt abruptly before Tyrion smacks Bronn on the hand. “And damn right she should be. Sansa Stark survived us all”. He could only nod. Sansa Stark had been a survivor. Throughout his years after the unjustly execution of Ned Stark, he had heard stories of the poor girl who lived and was tortured by the Lannisters. He heard about the cruel things Joffrey had done to her, the jealous and disgusting rumours he heard from young girls and lecherous men in taverns, even the admiring appraisal he remembers hearing from Arya one time they had laid underneath the stars. She had been a fighter. Just like Arya. And when he first stepped in Winterfell, he saw no doubt. Bronn only holds his hands in the air in an accusingly manner before they continue to walk through the long tortuous tunnel.

 

As the end of the tunnel draws closer, they begin to hear the loud bellow of loud shouts and screams echoing from outside as they all halt before the door. Tyrion knocks on the door once before it swings open to reveal a guard who pushes it wide open as they all step through. There is a fiery heat blaring through the sky as Gendry’s eyes squint from the brightness. A loud dragon roar rips through the air as loud shouts and cheers are followed after. Gendry knew the dragon that called his queen its ‘Mother’ was powerful. He too, heard thousands of stories about the powerful beast that lay rest beneath his mother’s feet. And everytime Gendry came across him, the large beautiful beast, he never failed to be amazed. He watched with eyes alight as Daenerys was sitting upon the dragon, his wings stretching out wildly a large gust of wind flows through him, the might of it causing to stumble back. Then, a flow of hot radiant fire lurches from its barbaric teeth, lighting up the big black cauldron that stood in the middle of the arena. Cheers are heard once more before the dragon swings back around and drops off Daenerys to the side as she gracefully gets off, smiling proudly.

 

“The lords and ladies of the North and the Storms land are sitting on the right hand side and on the left, the lords of the Vale and the Reach and Iron Islands” Tyrion informs Gendry, as he turns his gaze to the view in front of him. The centre podium that they were currently seated on sat on top of the wide courtyard beneath them, the crowds and crowds of people situated on rows of seats around in a circle. The podium was decorated in Targaryen and Stark banners across as there was two equally large chairs sat upon in the middle for the King and Queen as they had the whole overview of the courtyard beneath them. On the right hand side, there were five more seats situated at an angle were each had a cupbearer and a guard behind each chair, which identically matched the left side. It was chattery and loud, the crowds loud cheers echoing in the background as Gendry takes it in. Lady Sansa Stark of Winterfell was sat in one of the chairs, sipping carefully on the cup held in her hand as she observes her surroundings. Her gaze lands on Gendry before he nods awkwardly at her before turning back to see Queen Daenerys.

 

“My Queen” he says to her, bending down on one knee and bowing his head before standing back upright. She sat in the chair on the left decorated and drenched in bright white paint. She gave him a small bow and a wide smile. “Lord Gendry, I presume you haven’t seen my husband?” He only shakes his head in response. “No My Queen, I was ‘bout to ask you the same question”. She doesn’t say anything before glancing oddly around her before shaking her head, as if to shake away her thoughts. “He’s bound to pop up anytime. Where is Agnes?” she questions as he feels a nervous twitch erupt through his body. “She felt tired and retired to her chambers early but I’m sure she’ll be able to come to the feast tonight”. The queen can only look down at him with sympathy before nodding, “I will send some servants to check up on her” and with that, she sat back in her chair, ending the conversation. He nods his head gracefully, “Your grace” before he walks away towards his designed seat.

 

He could notice Daenerys was nervous. From her odd glances, Gendry and she both knew something was up with Jon’s absence. The king was not often late to any events and especially wasn’t tardy. He was always on time and efficient but his lack of presence somehow managed to set Daenerys on edge. He wondered if she was okay but surely she wouldn’t. With all the new festivities and the new member of her growing family. She was bound to be ridden with anxiety.

 

“Gendry”

 

Sitting upright in his seat, he shakes his thoughts about his queen away and grazes his eyes over the voice who called him. He turns around to see Sansa Stark, seated one seat away from him staring at him with friendly yet calculating eyes. He stares at her in admiration for a split second before respectfully bowing his head to her. “Lady Sansa, it has been some time” And it sure has. After the battle of Winterfell that took place many summers ago and the Night King had finally been defeated, he had stayed for a few more months spending his time in the forge and alongside his companions before returning to the Storms end were duty called. Lady Sansa Stark was awfully kind and compassionate to the people and he remembers feeling a sense of sadness when he had left. But not before becoming good friends with the lady. “Yes, yes it has. How are you?” She speaks up, her monotone voice spoken loudly over the loud cheers. He shakes his head as he perks closer awkwardly to listen to her. “Pardon?” She doesn’t respond instead gives him a small smile with a twinkle in her eye. “I asked,'' How are you?” this time, her voice spoke loudly. He felt like an idiot. “I’m quite good my lady, and you? I have not written to you in sometime. Please forgive me” Gendry replies in a friendly tone. He watches as she studies his facial features, her eyes raking in his appearance before shaking her head slightly. “I’ve been busy. I’m sure we both have. So many people to manage and responsibilities to uphold, it’s hard taking the time to pleasure ourselves in writing a letter. So no need to apologise, it 's quite ’right”. He only nods. She was right in  her truth. He hadn’t heard or spoken with her or any other lords throughout the years. It was hard, maintaining long term friendships from people across the country to maintaining enough rations of food for people to eat almost. It wasn’t an easy job, he now knew but Gendry loved his people. And he knew damn well Sansa Stark sure did.

 

A question pops up in his mind. “Why is there a spare seat in between us?” He curiously asks to her as she cocks her gaze back towards him. “For Arya of course” Suddenly, he feels all the blood rush from his body froze as he feels trapped in his seat. It takes him awhile for him to digest this information before gulping nervously. “I-I thought you hadn’t seen her in years” And that was true. Memories of Jon approaching him only a few nights ago lingered in his mind. Winterfell and Sansa and had not seen her in four years and now she was back. Maybe she had finally shown herself? Of course, Gendry thought. She reminded him last night that she had come to King’s Landing for Jon. So surely she must’ve crossed paths with her own sister. He only nods, ignoring the rapid pace his heart beating through his chest rings as he sits back in his chair. Suddenly, the door that Gendry had entered in before suddenly opens wide and his eyes catches on her. **Arya Stark** . She was standing there aside Jon as they both walk in with a smile, Jon walking towards Daenerys before giving his younger sister a tight hug. He watches as Arya returns the affectionate as she hugs him back before pulling back to glance around the room. Her dangerous eyes first land on Sansa before he watches her gaze stretch over towards him as they lock eyes. He feels the tension high in the air as he stops all movements in his seat as he gulps nervously, his stomach flipping all over. She was staring at him intensely and not long after, she takes long strides over. _Don’t be an idiot Gendry, breathe_ ! He thought to himself as he slowly takes small breaths, feeling movement beside him to realise she had taken the seat beside him. He catches a quick whiff off the sun, the plants and a sweet scent of honey as he feels his heart beating faster against his chest. _Good god, out of all places, she had to sit right next to him!_ He wasn’t sure how much longer his body could take this.

 

“Have you seen him yet?” He hears Sansa ask her younger sister as there is no response followed, assuming she nodded her head. “He’s beautiful isn’t he? He reminds me of father” Sansa once again says. Gendry awkwardly shakes his head before quickly glancing at the two. Arya was sitting on the chair slouched back as Sansa had her whole body turned to stare at her. Arya nodded gently at Sansa’s comment. “Although right now, he looks more like her-" All three glance towards the Dragon Queen who sat tediously in her chair "-He will definitely grow up to look more like a Stark that one. I hope they decide to name him Eddard” Her voice is hopeful and calm, just like she had been last night. Gendry could feel all the memories of the previous night flooding through his mind and if it wasn’t for the ale occupied in a cup beside him, he was sure to die of embarrassment. He takes a big gulp before setting it down, clearing his throat before he turns his head to find Arya’s fixated gaze staring at him with intent. Their eyes interlock as he watches almost as if in slow motion as her daring eyes trail down his appearance taking him in, almost as if he was a meal ready to be devoured. He nervously gulps, watching as her eyes trail from beneath towards his face as he notices her linger for a few seconds on his lips before their eyes interlock once more. He opens his mouth about to say something but he is quickly  interrupted by the loud horn bellowing through the sky. “Begin!” He hears the Queen shout out from her spot as a loud roar is heard and soon, screams and shouts from the crowd is heard. He shakes away his lustful gaze breaking away as he turns around to see the dragon flying in the air amongst the people. He looks around the podium to see all the lords on the left and right side were both preoccupied with the maginicant scene happening right before their eyes. And Gendry would be too. Only, his mind was focused on something else. Or rather, someone else.

 

“Gendry”

 

 

His eyes quickly dart to Arya as he finds her once again staring at him with intensity. She looked so beautiful he thought to himself as he finally takes in her appearance. Her chestnut brown hair was hanging loosely on her chest, parted two ways met with braids following it. She had light green decorations carefully placed in her hair and if it wasn’t for the loud sounds of the tournament happening right beneath, he was sure of it that she would hear how loud his heart was beating wildly in his chest. Her bottom lip was tinged with a red as her pale cheeks were rosy, almost as if she was flushed. He felt an overwhelming power to kiss her right then and there but he stopped himself. _What was he doing! He loved Agnes!_ Clearing his throat awkwardly, he lets out a small cough before shaking his head and slipping on a fake smile across his lips. “Arya. Good to see you again!”

 

 _Good to see you again?_ Gendry wasn’t sure if he was dumb or stupid. Of course that had to be the words he says to her after their last encounter. He hated himself more and more as he internally cringed. She seemed to notice his odd manner before she lets out a small chuckle. It felt like music to his ears. “Good to see you too I guess-” she begins to reply and he feels like dying from humiliation. All he wanted to do at this point was to crawl under his thin sheets and stay there for eternity. “-are you okay?” He hears her ask to him. He shakes his thoughts away. “Uh y-yeah I’m fine, just tired is all”. He wasn’t tired. In fact, he was energetic. He wasn’t sure if it was from the ale he had drank or the beautiful woman that sat in front of him, completely unaware of her affect on him, he was bound to say something stupid.

 

It’s silence between them as another loud roar is heard from the crowd. He glances to see the lords and ladies clapping their hands in unison as chatter is heard around them, the occasional bellow of laughter. He hears Jon chuckle loudly from his seat. He wants to say something to her but it feels like the words won’t come out. He feels stuck. Paralysed somehow and he prays that his slow mind thinks of something before she ends the awkward conversation between them. “I’m sorry” She blurts out to him. His eyes interlock once more with her as an awkward tensive expression is plastered across her features. His brow raises. “For?” She pauses, gulping nervously before sighing. “For this morning. I hadn’t meant to creep up on you and your… um, friend in the garden..” She trailed off but Gendry knew where she was getting out. How could he forget. She had seen them two this morning after Agnes crying session had erupted out of nowhere, lurking in the shadows. What was she doing in the garden? Walking alone perhaps? “Uh.. yeah it’s fine. Agnes had a bit of a rough morning” He finally says, his voice trailing off into the crowds screams as Arya only nods her head fast in agreement. She quickly glances around before innocently leaning in on the chair, closer to Gendry’s side, her face leaning inquisitively up at him. He could’ve sworn his heart stopped beating at that moment as his breath hitched in his throat. She was so close to him now that he could make out the familiar scar she had etched on top of her left brow, a constant reminder of her defeat against the Night King. “Do you want to get out of here?”

 

He was stunned. Here he was, thinking Arya Stark had a small feeling deep down that she wanted nothing to do with him yet instead, here she was inviting him to ditch this social event. Her eyes twinkle up at him as he considers his options. Every inch of him wanted to go with her. He knew from the beginning how much these social events bore her relentlessly and hell he was the same. But he felt a certain obligation to stay. Would Jon be mad if he left? What would the other lords say?

 

“Gendry?”

 

But did Gendry care? Had he cared enough of other people’s opinions and thoughts so much that it prevented him from spending possibly their only time alone together to hang.. Out? He thought about it for a while before realising ‘Fuck it’. At this point, Gendry didn’t care enough. Maybe it was from all the wine he had or the nervous anxiety spins that took toll in his stomach, he had never felt so sure about something in his entire life. All he wanted to do was be with her in that moment.

 

So as he stares back up at her, agreeing to her bad decisions, he nods his head in agreement. A smile plastering over his lips.

 

He was happy. But little did he know that this road was bound to be an endless journey of heartache and misery.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not edited! i attached a picture of how i imagine gendry to look like now. personally i love him with black hair but he still looks like a snack with his bald head lmao

**Chapter 8**

 

Gendry was nervous. And as he damn should be.

 

They had barely spoken to each other since the other night and here Gendry Baratheon was, once again in the presence of Arya Stark. He wasn’t sure as to why he agreed to go off with her. He didn’t think much of accepting her offer to leave the tournament and he certainly had not thought it through but before he knew it, his words escaped his lips too soon and there he was, following her through the back door towards the tunnel out towards the Red Keep.  It had been a spur of the moment decision and now looking back at his choice, Gendry felt like punching himself. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting. _A light hearted conversation? A funny humorous one?_ He should’ve known not to expect that from Arya Stark.

 

They had been walking in complete utter silence through the Red Keep for around one ten minutes now ever since they had slipped out of the busy tournament and if it wasn’t for the cool summer night’s soft wind rustling through the leaves that were scattered beneath their boots, he was certain that he would lose his mind. Although he often loved being in a peaceful and quiet environment left alone to his attentive thoughts, he couldn’t help but feel more anxious ridden than ever. At this point, what he wanted most was to converse with her hoping that the words would flow smoothly out of his lips but as his stomach swirled in butterflies, he knew that it wouldn’t be possible.

 

“Why are you so nervous?”

 

Gendry glances over to Arya to see her staring up at him, her left thickly arched brow raised in curiosity. His breath hitches in his throat as he feels a slight burn of crimson red stinging his pale cheeks. He had never felt more humiliated in his life. “Why would I be nervous?”

 

He hated that she knew him so well. Of course she could read his body language just as easily as she could read his face. She remembered the way his shoulder would tense tightly when he felt uncomfortable or the way his nervous eyes would dart everywhere around him, familiarising himself with the place. He wasn’t sure whether to feel shocked or amazed by her. But the way his heart unhealthily swelled in his chest seemed to hint that he felt more than just amazed by her.

 

“Since we left, you’ve done nothing but anxiously looked around as if you think someone is following you and your hand has twitched about four times now” She casually reprimands him with a nonchalant expression across her face as they continue to walk through the seemingly empty streets. His mouth slightly gapes open but he shuts it tight. This whole time she had been subtly observing him and here he was, lost in his trance oblivious to her quick stealth observations. He lets out a sigh before running a hand through his black hair. “Uh, I-I’m sorry, I was just caught up in my thoughts”

 

She doesn’t say anything to him, only peering up at him with an intriguing expression etched across her face before she nods her head. A quick silence follows. “Well? Care to share your thoughts?”. He almost halts in his steps before glancing at her, her interested eyes peering up at him. He watches her oddly before he shakes his head, releasing a casual smile “It’s nothing important”

 

She doesn’t say anything to his comment before she nods in understanding as she shifts her position and the pair continue to stroll through the Red Keep. The summer cool night sky that was once painted a dark blue was beginning to darken into midnight as the music and chatter from the tournament had now been completely blocked out. The wind was cool and slightly crisp, a fresh breeze drifting past them and for the first time since they had left, he felt more at ease. Maybe now he could finally muster the courage to say something. He takes a deep breath before cocking his head sideways to stare at her.

 

He clears his throat awkwardly. “So-” he begins as he scratches the back of his neck, “-Uh  have you seen Jon yet?” _Good god, could he get any worse?_ Of course she must’ve seen him, he thought to himself . They had walked in together during the tournament and he inwardly groaned at his own stupidity.   _What was wrong with him?_

 

Arya responds nodding her head, “I visited him just before the tournament started. He hasn’t changed much”. They make a subtle left turn at one of the hollow streets, her skinny arm gently brushing against his muscled toned arm and for the slightest second, he felt goosebumps erupt down his arms. “Aye, he hasn’t” And that was true. The King had not changed in the span of four years. “He doesn’t look like him though” Arya blurts out as Gendry snaps out of his thoughts. He turns to her as their eyes interlock, her curious eyes staring deeply at him. He nervously gulped.  “His son I mean. He looks more like Daenerys”

 

She looked somewhat saddened by this fact as he noticed the way her shoulders subtly slumped at her comment. Gendry suddenly realised why she was affected. Her whole family had been wiped out by their enemies and the remaining Stark children had been through hell. He remembers the nights they used to sleep under the stars when they travelled together and how often she would say how she was going home to ‘Winterfell’ and how much she missed her family. He knew she loved her family to death. He also knew that when Arya Stark _loved_ someone, she would do anything for them.

 

He shifts awkwardly as he lightly shakes his head. “That little bastard is cute though” He countered attempting to lighten the situation, the words scraping through his lips as her eyes widened at his comment. He holds his breath as he awaits for a smart or snappy comment but he gets nothing but a intenseful stare from her. Then suddenly, her lips open and she rips out a soft laugh. _It sounded like music to his ears_ he thought to himself as he forces himself not to react. Instead, a smile threatens his lips and soon he has joined in laughing along with her.  He wasn’t sure what possessed her to laugh but the way her melodic carefree laugh echoed loudly through his ears, Gendry wished he could store this memory forever and replay it over and over again. He hadn’t remembered the last time he had seen or heard Arya Stark laugh like a child.

 

The laughing halts to an end as they continue to stare at each other before smiling in content and turning away, strolling through the empty streets of Kings Landing. He hears a small sigh beside him as he cocks his head to glance at her, her thin pink lips twisted up in a smile as her eyes were concentrated ahead of her. Finally, he let out a relaxed anxious ridden smile. He needed to enjoy this moment while it lasted. He wasn’t sure if he was to ever be in the presence of her again, not when there time together would surely come to an end. He felt a slight pang in his chest as he briefly shut his eyes, thinking about the time when they would all eventually have to leave.

 

As they continue to trudge the silent night, the sound of slight chatter and bellowed laughter rings through the darkness. The pair continue walking as they stumble upon a tavern lit with a flame. At the front was a small table huddled around by overweight men dressed in armour loudly screaming and screeching through the night, the strong scent of ale evident in the air. He glances over at the small crowd, none taking any interest in either of them and he lets out a breath of relief before striding down the path. He was glad the drunken men had not bothered to glance at either of them. He didn’t want trouble, especially not with Arya. But he seemed to speak too soon.

 

“Aye girl!”

 

Both Gendry and Arya stop dead in their tracks at the loud voice as Gendry quickly glances over at Arya to see her staring heavily at the men in front of her. He holds in a nervous gulp before he slowly turns around and face the men. One of the men, the overconfident one in the group it seemed, was now standing up from his seat, an evident cup of ale in his hand as the liquid was spilling everywhere. His white beard was stained with dirt and his breastplate for his armour had hinged off on the side and Gendry let out an internal groan. _They really just had to say something to disrupt us_ , Gendry thought to himself.

 

Arya doesn’t say anything in response, only raises her brows before shifting her position to face him. The other men in the back continue to roar out in laughter, amused by this interaction. These drunken bastards were too dumb to realise that she was the King’s sister. “Aye, come here girl! Let us get a look at that' pretty face!”

 

His eyes dart over to Arya who appeared seemingly calm as she strode over towards the men, stopping until she was only a few metres away. Compared to the knight, Arya was tiny against him as her head barely reached the man’s shoulders. He couldn’t help but feel nervous. He knew Arya would protect herself. He had learnt that the day she came into the forge while he was working in Winterfell, throwing her knives into the wooden plank with precision and all without a blink of an eye. He only then realised how capable she was when he heard about the infinite gossip about how Arya Stark of Winterfell had slain the Night King. She didn’t need his help. But that didn’t stop the waves of needing to protect her washing over him.

 

It seemed as if his feet moved on it’s own accordance as he found himself walking over towards the escalating scenario, stopping only a metre away from Arya. Arya doesn’t seem to move but the man’s eyes in front of her dart over to him before he lets out a smirk. Chairs scraping against the stone causes Gendry to look over to see the men who were previously laughing, were now all hoisted up and standing behind the first man, hands all resting upon their swords.

 

“I said speak whore!” The now angry man shouts in anger at Arya as she says nothing but continues to stare at him, her eyes squinting as her gaze turns into a deadly stare. She doesn’t respond and the man in front of her seems to become more frustrated by the minute as his eyes darted over to Gendry. “Make this whore speak!”

 

Gendry was starting to get frustrated. These men had no idea who any of them were and if Jon were to be here right now and to have listened to the filth spat out by his own men, he was certain they would be gone for good. Gendry glances over to Arya where a calm expression is still plastered across his face, her eyes still subtly observing the men in front of her. Somehow, she had managed to not let a single slip of her emotions slide but he couldn’t help the feelings of annoyance swelling within him. He was never one to be patient and this was spiraling quickly. All he wanted to do was act quick to get them out of this unwanted attention. He lets out an unwavered sigh to hide his anxiousness beneath. “I cannot make this ‘ _whore_ ’ do anything she doesn’t wish to do, especially if this ‘ _whore_ ’ is Arya Stark”

 

The men all pause in their movements before turning to glance at each other. Suddenly, they all let out a monsterous loud laugh as they all shake their heads in disbelief and amusement, clearly entertained.  One of the men from behind speak out causing Gendry to look behind the first man, “The Night King slayer you mean? That bitch is long gone now, off to gods know where. She’s probably dead by all means”. The men all nodded their heads in unison and agreement. Gendry shook his head at the men's ignorance. How bad he wanted to yell at them and tell them that the Night King slayer was standing right in front of their very own eyes but he knew that would do no good. They would simply laugh at him just as they had done already.

 

The first man who had called out to Arya earlier who was now standing in front of him glanced at Gendry before turning to Arya, grinning as he licked his lips. “It’s a shame you’ve kept this one all to yourself, she looks so fuckable toni-”

 

Before the man could have said anything else, Gendry watches as if in slow motion as he pulls back his arm and brings his fist harshly into the man’s face slamming as his fist connects with the bones cracking underneath his hand, eyes widened in surprise and sudden realisation. His heart was beating wildly in his chest as adrenaline courses through him with excitement as he watches the man stumble backwards, crashing into the clutter of table and chairs. “You cunt!” The man horrifyingly screams out loud, his hand covering his broken face, blood squeezing out. The men all look back at each other before withdrawing their swords and aiming it at Gendry, staunting closer with each stride  “You’ll pay for that!”

 

He gulps nervously. Suddenly, before the men could even charge forward towards him, he notices the glint of the sword from behind as the sound of flesh slicing echoes loudly through his ears while the men all stop before eyes widening, bodies trembling in the air for a slight second and all collapse on the floor. He shuffles back as the three dead men’s bodies lay lifeless against the concrete, all spread out with blood spilling everywhere as Gendry watches in horror. With a swift movement in the corner of his eye, he looks up to see standing behind them in all of her glory was Arya Stark, holding a bloody sword in her hand, panting hard.

 

Gendry wasn’t sure if he was amazed, horrified or insanely turned on.

 

Her attentive gaze is held onto the dead bodies before she dazes up, their eyes connecting as they share a look to each other before loud chatter is heard, approaching quickly. _Fuck_! He thinks to himself, Gendry’s eyes widening in panic. Arya glances up at him too and before he knew it, he races over to grab Arya’s hand, the blade dropping in a rush before the pair bolt through the night, the cool wind rustling through them, hair flying through the wind.

 

They both continue to run through the wind until they finally come across a clearing of the Red Keep entrance where an open field lay vast in front of them. There was barely any light visible from their sight as they halt, pausing to take a breath and to turn around at their surroundings. They had reached the furthest part of town with only a few houses left and an empty stream beside it. The Red Keep entrance had been blown off sometime during the end of Cersei’s reign and the vast land in front of him appeared to be empty. He turns his head to glance at Arya until he realises she’s in front of him, already climbing up through the darkness.

 

“Wait!”

 

Following quickly behind her tail, the moonlight’s gaze twinkles along with the stars in the sky, the reflection shining against the green field, planted with thick coated trees. Arya stops in her tracks before looking over her shoulder and turning back to look at him. “Hurry up!” She yells out. He shakes his head at her impatience before striding towards her. Once he’s near, they both take a seat on the ground, plopping like water droplets before falling back onto the fresh grass.

 

He was out of breathe at this point, his breathing hard and heavy as Gendry exhales deeply before controlling his breaths. He briefly closes his eyes before opening to cock his gaze towards Arya who lay beside him, her eyes staring up at the midnight sky and it’s presence. Heart hammering wildly in his chest and his thoughts were all over the place, Gendry couldn't help but think of one thought while his admiring eyes gazed over her face.

 

_Beautiful._

 

Noticing his fierce fixated stare, Arya turns her head sideways until her brown eyes too land on his gaze. He doesn’t shift uncomfortably or blush under her stare but instead, he lets out a small smile before a loud laugh leaves his lips. His chuckles continue to get louder as Arya smiles before joining in. The sounds of their peaceful tranquil laughs echoing loudly throughout the night seemed to somehow make them laugh harder as at this point, they were both clutching their stomachs loudly laughing.

 

“I can’t believe he didn’t know who we were” Arya retorts out loud and Gendry snorts in response as the two continue to laugh like a pair of crazy children. A few minutes go by and soon, the laughing goes down as they both exhale out loud, a few giggles escaping their lips. He shakes his head, ridding of the laughter, “Imagine if Jon were to find out. Aye, he would be pissed”

 

A soundless amicable silence falls over the pair, laying out in the night as they watch the midnight sky pass by. Just as they once had when they were children. Gendry couldn’t help but feel happiness as he relaxed between the comfort of his long lost friend and the softness of the grass beneath him. _He could live like this forever,_ he thought to himself in silence as the occasional sounds of animal noises were heard.

 

“Gendry?”

 

He turns his gaze as his eyes land upon Arya, who now had fixated her adorning eyes upon him. His heart continues to pick up its speed within his chest. “Yes?”

 

She smiles softly, “Do you remember when we were children, travelling with the Brotherhood all those years go, do you remember _that feeling?_ ”

 

He wasn’t sure where the question had come from. Not only moments ago were they laughing about the three men Arya had killed and now here they were, the beginning of a deep heart to heart conversation about to take place. He gulps nervously. _Was he ready for this?_ Shaking his head, he blinks before confusion etched across his face. ‘What feeling?”

 

She shakes her head slightly, getting herself comfortable against the bed of grass. “That feeling of being free. Laying underneath the naked night sky and watching the moon move as the sun would rise-” she pauses, turning her head to glance at the sky once more “-don’t you ever miss it?”

 

He blinks, then he blinks again. Of course he missed it. It was the one thing in the entire world after Arya Stark that Gendry missed most. He missed being able to enjoy that sense of freedom that reigned over him, being able to do whatever he wanted at any time. Now, all he was, was a slave to responsibilities of upholding and maintaining a castle and the people who came to live under his command. If he could go back in time, Gendry would’ve wished, deep deep down that the Dragon queen would have never ever legitimised him. He wished he kept his secret about being Robert Baratheon’s bastard son a secret but instead, he was here in Kings Landing attending unequically a ‘lordly duty’. But he would never admit it out loud.

 

He gulps, “Of course I do but that’s just not me anymore”. Arya doesn’t respond to his answer, only shifting her head rustling against the grass continuing to watch the sky. She must have been expecting a better answer but he wasn’t sure what to say. _Should he have said his true wishes that he kept to himself?_ He clears his throat awkwardly.

 

“Can I ask you a question?” His stomach was swirling around in anxiousness.  “Hm?” She responds ever so softly that Gendry’s heart pangs at the sound. _Cut it out Gendry!_

 

“Why did you say no?”

 

 _Oh no._ Gendry freezes in his spot as his eyes widen in horror. He hadn’t meant to say that. He was meant to ask her about what she had been doing up far exploring the west but instead, the slippery words that had plagued his mind since he first saw her had managed to escape. _Oh god,_  he thought to himself, a crimson red blush striking across his cheeks. He feels as if he’s frozen in time, almost as if bricks were crashing down upon him. He doesn’t know what to say but to make it even worse, he realises that Arya has not even responded. He clears his throat awkwardly as he internally punches himself. _You are such a fucking idiot!_ “Don’t answer that, I didn't mean to-”

 

“I wanted too. You don’t know how badly I wanted to answer and give you the answer you wanted-”

 

His heart burned deep within his chest as his eyes softened, saddened eyes taking in her appearance. She was still staring up, straight ahead at the sky and he was almost thankful at that. He didn’t want her seeing how confused, hurt and all the while shocked at her words. His heart was hammering so loudly in his chest he felt like it was ready to pop out at any second. His muscles were all tensed and he could feel a cramp making its way on his back but he didn’t care, her words were still registering through his mind.

 

“-but the timing was so wrong. At that time, all I cared about was finishing what _I_ had started, my stupid list. Cersei was still on the throne and I was bloodlust hungry, only thinking about one thing in my mind. Killing her. I knew I had to go through with it. I needed to make those people pay for what they had done to me and my family. It cost us everything-” Her voice was breaking slightly as he heard a sniffle come out. His heart broke in two pieces, desperate to touch or to hold her in any sense. He wanted to let her know that he was there for her.

 

Just as she always had been with him all those years ago.

 

“-It sounds dumb but that list was the only thing that kept me going throughout these years in exile. And now that it’s finally over and the war was won, the family that I had lost came back to me and for the first time in years, I realised that I did not regret a single thing I have done. Everything I’ve done led me up to this moment right now-” She continued as she turns her gaze towards Gendry, her big doe eyes staring up at him with a glossy look.

 

“-which was being here with my family”

 

He was speechless. _Had she considered him her family?_  Her words had cut sharp like a knife as he watches her with sad eyes, a soft smiling erupting on her lips. He doesn’t know what to do. _She had opened up to him and all he had done was stay silent_. Suddenly, without any second thoughts or regards, heart pounding wildly as adrenaline is racing like wildfire through him,  he moves closer to her as he grabs her arm gently before pulling her into him, engulfing her in his arms. He is shaking at this point, wrapping his arms around her small frame as she hesitantly does the same, slipping hers around his waist. She moulds almost perfectly against him in a way, leaning her head against his chest, the smell of the sun, dirt and jasmine engulfing his nostrils from the scent of her hair.

 

Memories from when they had laid together back at Winterfell plagued his mind as he tries to fight off the blush that threatens to expose his nature. She shifts comfortably in his arms as they lay in silence, watchful underneath the sky.

 

“Arya?”

 

She doesn’t respond but from the twitch of her eye as she blinks through the night, he knows she’s awake. But he didn’t care if she was awake or asleep. He couldn’t deny the feeling of butterflies and jitters he felt when she was around or the way his heart would pick up it’s pace every ten seconds. He couldn’t help but think of her all the time and as bad it seems even while he was with Agnes, Arya plagued his mind like a disease. He wanted to let her know his gratitude and appreciation for her, even if they were meant to be as friends. _He didn’t want to be,_ he thought to himself and at that point, he didn’t deny it. It was better being friends that nothing at all, no matter how desperate he wished she would come back to him. It was then at that moment that he finally realised, laying underneath the stars, that Gendry Baratheon wasn’t over Arya Stark. He was far from over. _He was still, madly, deeply, truly in love with Arya Stark._

 

He brings his hand up to her hair as he strokes it lovingly before he plants a sweet soft kiss against her forehead, his heart swelling and radiating from pure intense love as feelings of their relationship, their bond and their love from the past begin to resurface.

 

He whispers so softly that she barely manages to catch it.

 

“Thank you”

 

 

 

 

-

                               

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOT EDITED 
> 
> sorry for the late update my chickens. ive been so busy with school work and all that i havent had time to update. this chapter is all about Arya's thoughts and everything that led her back to Westeros. thought id give u an insight on aryas POV
> 
> check notes at the end

**Chapter 9**

 

**A R Y A**

 

There was always one thing that Arya Stark had learned during her long four year absence of travelling the depths of the uncharted lands far from home and everything she loved and that was that time was of the essence. She realised this the first night at sea as she lay awake at night in her bunker, the soft gentle waves rifting against the rocking boat that sailed through the Narrow seas. The most beautiful moments that occurred in her life always seemed to accelerate at a growing speed and always somehow manages to slip just beyond her grasp, just as when she wanted to hold onto them for as long as possible. 

 

Four years. Four years is what it took Arya Stark to finally call off her mindless adventures and to set sail back home to Westeros. After the Great War had ended and Cersei Lannister and the rest of Daenerys Targarayen’s enemies were all defeated, it seemed as if peace fell over Westeros like a thin blanket, stretching out to every nook, cranny and corner throughout the land. It was as if the tainted filthy air had been lifted like a dizzy spell and soon, the people of Westeros began to grow and nourish like a butterfly breaking away from its cocoon. The people began to become kinder to each other, strangers who had been enemies in the past life were rekindling and mending their friendships, some even spreading out good fortune to others.  And for the first time ever since Ned Stark’s execution, order seemed to be restored within the seven kingdoms. And as time progressed and the moons turned to years passing by as swift as a blur, Westeros began to do the only thing possible; slowly heal from the horrors they all had suffered. 

 

Everything was picture perfect. For a while. 

 

Jon Snow and the Dragon Queen Daenerys Targarayen were soon wedded in a secret ceremony deep within the icy North only a few days before Daenerys Targarayen’s coronation. Despite many doubtful and hesitant gossip, believing that Jon only wanted her for her crown, they ignored the rumours as they each ascended into their position as King and Queen of the six kingdoms governing with love. Sansa Stark had finally claimed independence for the North, ruling as the true Queen of the North alongside their younger brother and Ned Stark’s last male living heir Bran Stark. 

 

It was almost as if it was perfect. The Stark children had finally made something out of themselves and were now fulfilling their destined roles that fate had peculiarly set out for them. Jon was becoming the king, Sansa became a queen and Bran became the Three eyed raven. They were finally in a world, free of secrecy, lies, betrayal and war, a constant trait that haunted House Stark for years. Ned Stark would of been proud. 

 

But somehow for Arya, it wasn’t perfect. There was still a heavy sensation lingering over Arya Stark’s heart as she took her first step onto her boat, looking out onto the deep horizons across from her as the Kings Landing shores began to get smaller and smaller in the distance. And as she trained her eyes beneath her towards the ocean’s blue waves that reminded her of  _ his eyes, his face, his scent, _ memories of him began to flutter through her mind. 

  
  


Gendry. 

  
  


As much times as Arya turned and tossed around at night begging her mind to forget about the stupid bull-headed smith that plagued her heart, mind and soul, she could never forget him. The image of his soft face burned so clearly through her mind that as much as she concentrated all her might to push him to the back of her mind, she simply couldn’t. It was almost as if she was in a constant fight between herself. Her mind wouldn’t let her. 

 

She remembered last seeing him in Winterfell, just days after the Battle of the Dead had ended and soon, the Great War was about to commence. She remembered the night of the feast when they had spent the evening commemorating and celebrating their victory and how Gendry looked down at her, vibes of happiness radiating off him as he bounced at her eagerly, so excited to tell her the news that Daenerys Targarayen legitimised him. 

 

 His eyes were lit with a fiery intensity of love and admiration that she recalls looking upon his  _ stupidly wicked beautiful _ face staring up at her, begging her to say yes and accept his proposal. She could still remember the way her heart accelerated two zero miles a minute as he grabbed her by the shoulders passionately, smashing his lips against hers as they moved together in perfect harmony or even the way goosebumps were trailing up and down her skin, crawling at pleasure when she had laid with him, just moments before the battle. She didn’t want to leave him. She wanted to stay in the warmth and security of his arms that was offered to her, to never know fear or pain. Only to be with him forever.  But she couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t. And deep down, Gendry knew it too. 

 

 As much as her heart tugged angrily away in her chest while her stomach flipped anxiously in impatience, she knew that deep down she could never offer what he asked for. She was never a lady and never had been. She didn’t belong caged up in the castle attending responsibilities day after day, a slave to her own problems. She belonged out there, in the wild wandering free like the wolf she was. And wolves cannot be tamed. So as Arya stared down at him, eyes filled with tears threatening to pour out while her heart broke in two, she did the only thing she knew what to do. Kiss him. 

 

She wished it would be enough to mend his broken heart, after she uttered the next words, ultimately rejecting his offer. But it did next to nothing and instead he stared at her in confusion, shock and most of all hurt as she looked away and continued to shoot arrows focusing her attention on something else before she would burst out into tears and fall apart. She had rejected him. Her whole heart in human form. All because of something that was given to him, out of his control. 

 

She couldn’t bear to see him. Not after what she had done. So as much as it pained her to leave him, she left him and continued to do what she did best. She began to focus all her attention back to her list that voided all humanity and feelings out of her to ignore the swelling pain that rumbled deep within her chest. Arya had a purpose to fulfill. And that was to avenge her family. So she did her best to bring justice into an unjust world.  She needed to do this for her father, mother, Robb and Rickon. And when her enemies were soon defeated, then it wasn’t until after the war once Arya’s enemies had been defeated despite not at her hands that she contemplated on whether she made the right choice; fulfill her burning passion of anger for vengeance that raged through her for years or chose the love of her life. 

 

She remembers once, faintly after the Great War ended when she had been on her way home to Winterfell, she had been riding a few days on her horse until she found herself stopped at a crossroads. For a minute, she panicked. She was unsure of where she was. Until she realised that one of the roads led her to the Storm Lands while the other continued down towards the far North. She had contemplated hard on whether she should visit him. She had heard that he was now running House Baratheon at Storm’s End, accompanied by Ser Davos, one of Jon’s friends. Her stomach churned with flutters as she remembers holding back the laugh that threatens to explode, imagining how he was holding up.  _ Had he been learning how to read? How to write? Could he know how to properly use a fork?  _

 

But she couldn’t. Deep down as much as she wished and prayed to the gods that she could run back to him to feel his arms wrapped around her again, she knew she couldn’t do that to herself. And especially to him. They weren’t Arya and Gendry anymore. They weren’t two lost children wandering the world anymore. They were older. Wiser.  They had responsibilities, titles and people to respect, duties that they had each vowed. He was a lord now. He couldn’t offer the freedom Arya craved for. If she had wanted, she could’ve chosen him. She would have forced herself into small dresses or sit through boring meetings and balls just for him. And she would’ve. But she hadn’t. Maybe that was either her greatest mistake or her greatest choice. But she had made her choice. And as much as a small part of her regretted it deep down, all she had to do now was live with the consequences of her actions. So she wiped away her tears, swallowed her gutting pride and continued on her way to  Winterfell, ignoring the ache that rested inside her. 

 

Soon, time flew. And as the dawn rose in the early mornings, the orange horizon filtering across the cold vast empty land in front of her, she felt empty. She felt alone, like a deep hole had buried deep inside her that couldn’t be shaken. She had lost her purpose in life. Just as Sansa and Jon fit well into their new titles and Bran into becoming a powerful three eyed raven, she felt as if she was lost. How bad Arya wished back for her wise father and mother to slowly put her at ease, her mother bristling her fingers through her hair.  She wished Gendry was beside her, holding her all the while whispering soothing sweet nothings into her ear or to have Jon rubbing her back for encouragement as he supported and listened to her rantings about life. But they were all gone now. Either dead or out there somewhere in the world continuing their lives. She had to deal with this despair and loneliness all on her own. The least she wanted was to burden her problems on them. So she sucked up the pain and suffered in silence. All until she began to have dreams. 

 

It was odd dreams at first, she remembers thinking as she would wake up in the dead of the night, confused. She had dreamed endless nights of sailing around the world, wondering what mysteries lay waste in the lands of the unknown. Some nights, she would dream that she was a bird, blissfully flying through the air as she soared ever so gloriously through the sky across the thousands of uncharted islands or a direwolf, running free deep in the North travelling at a fast pace, paws pounding on the soft snow beneath. So when Jon and Daenerys commenced their coronation, ascending into their rightful places as King and Queen across the six kingdoms, she set sail, a few moons later, stepping foot in her own carefully articulated boat designed by Bran himself, engraved with a sigil of a direwolf painted across the front decking. 

 

Arya had never planned this. From sleeping in mud puddles with rain splattering over her frozen body dead on cold nights to sleeping on solid concrete protected with nothing against the sun's hot rays, she had wanted nothing more than to return home, back to her childhood she so desperately sought once more. All she had wanted was to be back in the safe security of Winterfell’s walls, all rugged up beside the hearth that was lit during the coldest of winters. She wanted to see Robb, Jon and Theon  again, laughing and playing out in the courtyard as they practiced their sword fighting, their father Ned Stark watching down from the tower above in joy. She wanted to hear Sansa and her mother Catelyn Stark boasting about Sansa’s stitching and the newest sewing garments she had managed to make. She wanted to stare at Bran again in a teasing disapproval manner watching while he would climb up rickety towers and broken trees. She wanted to hug her youngest brother Rickon one last time and never let him go. But they all had been memories. Memories of her past life that she had taken for granted. 

 

But now, she had finally found her family. The once young and naive remaining children of House Stark were finally home, back were they all belonged in the comfort of Winterfell, far deep in the North. Often, Arya couldn’t help but feel melancholy at her pain. The tragic horrors of her parents and brothers deaths still lingered heavily in her heart, the past beating inside her like a second heart and even now, had it become a hard subject to talk about. But she knew there was no point in dwelling in the past. All it led to was a stab in her heart and eyes wet with tears. All there was left to do now was to accept their painful deaths and move on, cherishing their home that  _ Jon and Sansa  _ had sacrificed everything for. So when she decided to leave to explore and adventure the world, alongside the Hound, Sansa and Jon were taken aback and slightly curious. 

 

_ “You want to go where?” Sansa Stark, Lady of Winterfell asks her younger sister, gazing at her in curiosity as she shifts in her chair. Arya doesn’t reply only nodding her head before looking over to Jon to find him staring at her oddly, his brows raised as if concentrated in deep thought.  _

 

_ Arya lets out a sigh. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, Sansa”, Sansa stares at her for a hot minute before exhaling a loud sigh. She rubs her temples with her thumb before staring back at her. “Did father ever tell you the story of King Brandon the Shipwright?” Both Arya and Jon are now listening at her in confusion.  _

 

_ Sansa rubs her hands in her lap together. “Our ancestors, King Brandon Stark  in the North attempted to sail across the Sunset Sea wanting to explore what was West of Westeros but he never made it-” She started as Arya cocks a brow at her. Jon shifts in his position before walking over towards the wooden oak table in the middle and adjusts himself onto the seats below.  _

 

_ “-And in his grief, his son Brandon Stark burned his remaining ships and called off any voyages out in the sea, in fear of what was out there.  Since that day, House Stark has and should always remain on land. We don’t belong out there” Sansa finishes her story before staring at Arya and Jon.  _

 

_ She lets out an exhale before reaching over to hold Arya’s hand in hers, looking at her with wide eyes “I only have one sister”  _

 

_ There is silence between the siblings, all left to each other's thoughts before Jon clears his throat. “Sansa is right Arya. We can’t lose you again, not after just finding you” Arya turns back to look at Jon. Jon and her had always been the closest sibling out of the family. They had both known what it was like to be an outsider from society and everyone else and had managed to find comfort and solace in each other. Jon had always supported her since the beginning with her sword practice and archery skills, but now she was unsure as to why he was going against her wishes for the first time.  _

 

_ Arya walks over to Jon before pulling him into an embrace. He hugs her quickly, engulfing her into his warm arms before she pulls back and stares at him with sadness “You’re not going to lose me. I’m Arya Stark of Winterfell and this is my home-” Jon only stares down at her with confliction, “-I’ll be back before you know it ``how desperate he was to lock her in the walls of Winterfell, safe and away for good knowing that she was well under protection forever but the way Arya had peered up at him with a burning fire of such intensity and ambition in her eyes, he knew that he had already lost. He didn’t want to be the reason as to why the fire in her eyes died out. So instead, Jon let out a heavy sigh before squeezing her shoulder. “You promise you’ll write to us?”  _

 

_ Arya let out a triumphant grin before she envelops him into a tight hug before turning around to stare at her older sister sitting in her chair, staring at both of them with frustration. Arya walks over to her and stands before her, wrapping her arms around Sansa. “You won’t ever lose me Sansa, I promise”  _

 

Arya needed to do this. She knew she needed to do this. Whether it was from her damned heart that ached like a stab reminding her of the man she tried to forget or through her fantasy dreams that kept her wide awake at night,  she knew that this was her calling. Just as being the three eyed raven was Bran’s and becoming an independent Queen in the North for the first time in hundreds of years had been Sansa’s. 

 

So as she boarded the ship in front of her, letting out a shaky breath, she withdrew her frowns and anxious thoughts that roared around in her head and let out a smile. For the first time in a while, wind blowing past through her hair, she finally felt at peace. 

  
  


That was, until she realised, just days after boarding the ship that her constant nausea and vomiting was not just from the constant rocking of the boat. There seemed to be something so cruel yet beautiful with fate, it seemed to have different plans for her. While it had been harrowing and unkind to both her and Gendry, it decided to play a cruel joke, something that Arya would never be able to take back. Fate had  gifted her with something so precious that she would forever carry to her grave. And for as long as she lived, Arya Stark had finally found the key to her lonely aching pain that rumbled deep within her chest. 

 

She bore a son. 

 

And she named him Robb Snow. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didnt originally plan to expose that arya had a son with gendry until in later chapters but i thought that i should lightly mention it in here so i did.; dont sweat guys, i will go into further detail about her child in future chapters just wait
> 
> i also decided to choose the name Robb Snow in honour of her older brother, the King in the North and also a slight mention to our fav king BOBBY B lmao
> 
> ALSO i know that bastards are usually named after their birth place but since in this story, we can all assume arya gave birth on the boat so i just decided to go with Snow as their son was basically conceived in the north. 
> 
> THANK YOU GUYS!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> written & barely edited @ 4am so bare with me. thank you to everyone!

**CHAPTER 10**

 

**GENDRY**

 

The next few days flew by like a whirlwind for Gendry. Whether it be such odd times for him such as the early mornings were the sunrise barely peaked through the summer clouds or till the late afternoons were the night sky had fallen, he had been dragged to attend long tedious small council meetings alongside Ser Davos or be forced to spend most of his free time alongside Agnes or some of the other knights in the castle. He hadn’t minded it at first. It reminded and helped him get back to his usual self routine back at Storm's End, something that he hadn’t missed at all. But with Arya Stark lingering around the castle, it had become almost impossible hard to focus on anything. 

Just moments after the sunrise began to peak through from the outskirts of the green hills that landscaped King’s landing, he almost let out a deep grumble at their short lived moment before they both scrambled to their feet and snuck their way back into the castle, careful to avoid the main hallways and staircases for any servants who could have possibly seen them. He was almost about to offer to walk Arya back to her chambers but as soon as he turned around, she was gone. Swift as a phantom in the night. 

He wished they could of kept talking. After their conversation, her words lingered heavily in his mind. _You don’t know how badly I wanted to answer. Had that meant she was willing to say yes? Did she want to accept his proposal?_ Her words left a mark on his heart. Flashback memories began to speed through his mind and he mentally cringed at the thought of it. Now that he was older and much more mature, he was finally able to look back on that exact moment, a time where he desperately wished to go back to, when he realised he had messed up. He should’ve remembered she wasn’t a lady. If the physical appearance did not evidently speak it, her actions and words should’ve. But back then, he had been so hopelessly in love that at the time, he didn’t realise that becoming the lady of a noble house was not for her. _All he had ever wanted at that point was for her to be at his side._

It wasn’t until he remembers hearing her usual confident tone of voice, crack while he scooted closer and kissed her lovingly on the forehead, that feelings that had been repressed over time began to peak its way through. For the past years he had been trying his best to subside any thoughts, images or memories of her and hide them deep down within his subconsciousness. But the moment his lips touched her gentle skin, he knew he was in deep trouble. All the feelings and emotions he had smothered began to crack through and only this time, it all felt entirely much stronger. He knew he was in trouble. But he couldn’t help it. It was as if every moment he shared with her caused his skin to alight with pleasurable fire and his heart to pound away rapidly in his chest. Being with her reminded him of his freedom and he liked it. _No, he loved it._

But Gendry was confused. For dinner at feasts she would barely look at him or say a word and almost quickly disappear right after. He had managed to catch her out in the courtyard a few times but she always seemed to be so caught up in her own world that Gendry felt as if he was intruding.  _Was she hiding from him? Did she regret the other night?_

  


He let out a heavy sigh before shaking his head, clear of his thoughts. 

 

It was around mid afternoon when the summer’s sweltering heat had only just begun. He had just retired from a meeting early that morning and was on a short break before another meeting began in half an hour. Gendry had always enjoyed the gardens. Despite the summer heat and much to Agne’s demise, he sat perched up upon on the bench as he closes his eyes, drinking in the sun while beads of sweat began to run down his neck. It was his own private space. 

 

Suddenly, a familiar voice snaps him out of his haze. “You ‘right lad?” 

 

He looks up to find Ser Davos, his most loyal companion staring down at him, his head blocking the hot sun from behind. Ser Davos had always known how much he hated meetings, especially long tiresome ones that exhausted the life out of him. Gendry lets out a muffled yawn before combing a hand through his black hair. “I don't think I'll ever get used to long’ meetings” 

Ser Davos lets out a chuckle before giving him a quick nod. “Come lad, let us walk”, Gendry sits up from his bench before following Ser Davos through the gardens as the pair continue to walk and chatter, the sound of laughter ringing through the air. A few members of the castle stumbled upon them as they walked and Gendry could of sworn one of the ladies had winked at him but he paid her no mind, burying his head and thought deeper into conversation. 

They continue to follow the clean cut bushes, entering an exit  barricaded with a thick stone wall as the ledge overlooked the narrow seas. A few ships were loaded down at the bay beneath them but it looked particularly empty. The smell of the ocean while the waves crashed against the shores reminded him so badly of Storms End, for a passing moment Gendry felt homesick.

“Ah, now this is what I have missed” Ser Davos exclaims, sighing out loud. Gendry cocks his gaze over to Ser Davos to notice him staring out into the ocean. Ser Davos had intensely helped and navigated Gendry through the lordly duties that he had been bestowed for the past years and as he looked further, he could tell his beard was becoming more white while his hair on his balding head was becoming thin. It somehow saddened his heart. 

 

Ser Davos reverts his eyes back to Gendry before raising a brow at him. “Like what ya’ see?” He can only scoff at his statement before looking out into the distance. 

 

Suddenly, his moments of silence and peace is suddenly cut off when he hears the sound of heavy grunting and movement is heard from beneath him and before he has the time to turn to see who it was, Ser Davos shakes his head beside him.  “That girl never stops” 

Gendry looks down from the ledge to find none other than the devil herself; Arya Stark, holding a sharp long blade in one of her hands while a straw dummy sat calm in front of her, her sharp blade slamming and cramming to the dummy’s body that small amounts of straw began to fall out. A few more loud grunts were heard before Gendry turns away, his heartbeat beating twice as fast. _Is this where she had been all this time?_

“That girl does everything but rest” Ser Davos huffs before glancing at Gendry. “C’mon, we should head back. They’ll be expecting us soon” and much to Gendry’s dismay he almost let out a gruntled grunt. _Should he go back to the meeting or go down to talk to her? Would she even want to talk to him?_ His stomach churned at the memory of them from previous days. He hoped she hadn’t forgotten. 

“Uh-” Gendry stammers, scratching the back of his neck “-I have something to check on. Go on ahead, I’ll catch up shortly”. Ser Davos can only furrow his brow in confusion, staring at him intensely. Then as if a light bulb, Ser Davos lets out an arrogant smile before shaking his head, laughter spilling from his mouth. He slaps Gendry on the back before winking. “Contain yourself lad” And with that, he turned around, walking away. 

Gendry could only blush as he peered down at Arya beneath him to find her still practicing as he walks around the edge before following down the path of stairs that led to the shore. With every step, he could feel his stomach twist anxiously in his stomach. _Maybe she had wanted some alone time? Would he have been invading her personal space? I mean, after all she hadn’t approached him or even taken her time to glance at him. Was she full of doubts? Or had she been waiting for him to initiate the first move?_ He began to see him slow down in his steps, the waves crashing louder as he approached. _Oh God, should he have just left?_

 

“Gendry?” 

 

His deep blue eyes strike up to find her brown eyes fixated before him only a few metres away with a confused expression spilled all over her face. He gulps nervously before almost tripping down the rest of the stairs, as he walks over to her. The closer he gets, he notices that she was no longer dressed in her usual clothing of leather pants suited with a vest and a dress shirt but instead, she was dressed in a slightly loose navy blue dress that is tightened around her chest while her brunette locks are wrapped in a tight bun, laying base on the back of her neck. The summer heat was beginning to settle on her as trickles of sweat roll down her forehead like water but she wipes it off with a shrug of her forearm before staunting closer to him, pieces and bits of her hair flying out everywhere. 

 

Gendry tries to conceal his look of confusion and judgement but it holds a grip of him and Arya reacts almost too soon. 

 

“What, have you never seen a girl in a dress before?” 

 

Gendry shakes his head. _I’ve just never seen you in one. And you look so beautiful._ “Well yeah but your not a girl-” 

 

Her eyes widen at his statement before she gapes her mouth open out wide, in shock. He wants to hit himself on the head. _Good god, save me from becoming a complete idiot in front of her!_ “-N-not saying your not a girl or anything! But I mean, it’s just-” 

Suddenly, her soft laughter manages to break his nonsense stuttering as she snorts unladylike out loud, her chest heaving up and down in amusement. “Relax Gendry, I know what you mean” 

 

He can only let out a sigh in relief. The last thing he ever felt like doing was insulting her when really, all he wanted to do was bathe her in compliments as much to her demise. Shaking his head, her eyes stared at him for a second before she exhales before explaining. “The queen asked that I be dressed accordingly for some absolutely stupid lunch we had today. Pointless, if you ask me”  

He can only chuckle at her response. It was possibly the only explanation as to why she was in a dress. The words slip out of his mouth before he can think , he lets out a snort before replying “Never thought I’d see the day that Arya Stark wore a dress”  She can only glare daggers and holes at him in annoyance as she huffs out loud. “Your stupid” 

 

Shaking his head, he walks closer to her to find the straw dummy with a few holes on the side standing there before him. He watches just as she turns her attention back to the dummy, walking around before gripping the sword tightly in her hand. She slams the sword once more into it, the noise drowning along with the waves. 

“Why are you practicing on a dummy anyways?” Gendry says, leaning against the large rock behind him as he crosses his arms over his chest. She continues to slam her sword into the dummy swiftly, her sharp dagger leaving soft but sharp cuts on the straw. She huffs before turning her gaze towards him. 

“All the guards seem to be _uncomfortable_ sparring with the King’s younger sister and I’d rather much practice on something that doesn’t talk as much” She simply states before grabbing a chunk of her dress and wiping her blade clean. 

He shifts in his seat. “I mean, I don’t bloody blame them. You’re m’lady after all”. In an instant, her eyes look up and dart at him before glaring at him. “Don’t call me that” But Gendry can’t help but feel a natural chuckle escape his lips at her annoyance. If there was one thing in the world that Arya loathed more than dresses and stories about handsome princesses, would be titles. He can only shrug his shoulders in a teasing manner as a playful smirk squints against his lips. “I’m sorry, m’lady” 

She can only scoff at his playful teasing before walking around the dummy and move towards him. He can feel his breath quicken in it’s speed as he watches as if in slow motion as she walks closer before stopping before him. Her big doe eyes are staring up at him and for a second, he can see a quick flicker of frustration flash through her eyes but its gone in a second. 

 

“Do you seem to enjoy torturing me, my _lord_ ?” She emphasises loudly on the word ‘lord’ and Gendry can feel the slight discomfort flashing through his body. _Torment? The most tormenting he would of done was drown her in kisses_. He can feel a crimson blush creeping onto his cheeks from the thought and her brows raised in confusion. 

“Is this what you call torturing? And here I was, beginning to think you enjoyed my company” He wasn’t sure where this new found confidence began to slip through. But he enjoyed watching her eyes slightly widened and taken aback from his comment as she takes a nervous step back before lifting her chin at him. 

“W-well if you could please stop distracting me my _lord,_ unlike you, I, have matters to attend too” She states and he can feel his heart accelerate loudly in his chest as a wave of sadness begins to fill him. He’s about to object when he realises she only continues to walk back over to her original spot and continue sword fighting. He holds in his sigh of relief. 

 

 _Were they.. Flirting? Sharing some banter?_ Gendry was definitely not sure what they were both playing out but he was definitely definite about the way the butterflies in his stomach fluttered strongly. Good god, he was in deep horse shit. 

 

He watches in admiration while Arya’s sword continues to smack loudly against the dummy. Her brows were furrowed together as if lost in deep concentration as he stares, her small thin arms gracefully striking the target. Suddenly, he feels the words escape his lips before it’s too late. “Duel me instead”

 

She looks up from her target before staring at him oddly. “Duel you?” 

 

He pauses before pushing himself off the rock and closer towards her. “Yes” He can tell she’s hesitant before dropping her blade on the ground, crossing her arms over her chest like a child intrigued. “Why?” 

Gendry can only shrug his shoulders before he lets out a teasing smile on his lips. “Why not? Are you afraid to lose?”

Arya can only scoff at his comment before raising her brow while licking her lips. Gendry’s eyes dart over to her pink lips immediately and he can feel his body tense. _Not now Gendry!_ “You know I would win. Besides,  Have you ever even used a sword?” 

 

She was right in her words. He had never received formal training on how to wield or use a sword correctly so he had always stuck with the hammer as it ironically became his signature weapon. He had the strength of a black smith and the rage of a madman. Swinging the hammer was almost a hidden talent of his, a talent he barely liked to use. Especially on others. 

 

“No-” he shrugs “-But how hard can it be?” 

 

He can notice she’s hesitant by the way her teeth scrape against her bottom lip in contemplation. He decides to encourage her further. “Well? Show me what the rumours say. Show me how s’posedly good you are” 

Arya lets out a cocky scoff before rolling her head sideways, grinning from ear to ear. Gendry wished he could’ve paused that moment and have her drawn right there so he could forever remember the memory of Arya Stark smiling. “Prepared to lose baratheon?” 

 

He feels a wave of happiness flooded him. He clicks his tongue before smiling wide. “Come on then Stark” 

 

Gendry quickly unsheathes his sword that was tucked beneath his shirt and holds it outwardly in the air, awkwardly as the grip feels different to a hammer. They both stand in front of each other, their feet planted on the ground facing each other, staring before he sees a grinning Arya moving closer towards him. He doesn’t continue to move forward until she is within a close range when he suddenly decides to push the blade forward. She manages to block the sword with hers before holding it up and twisting underneath, kicking him in the stomach. Gendry lets out a groan as he stumbles back, a swelling ache growing in his stomach down towards his lower abdomen. He’s determined to not let her see the pain he’s in while she stands a few inches away, an arrogant expression slanted on her face. 

“C’mon now baratheon!” She almost eagerly shouts out and he lets out a cough before grinning at her enthusiasm. He had never truly seen her this happy in a while and it made his heart swell with affection. 

With all his might, Gendry stands straight from his posture before yelling as he lunges towards her. She runs too and soon their swords clash in the air, her blade blocking his as the swords dance downwards. He quickly lifts the sword up before turning around bringing the sword over his head and down to her side, but he is too slow to notice that she was no longer in front of him but behind him. “Wha-” he manages to let out before he feels his hand weaken its grip on the sword from behind. He quickly sweeps to his feet to cock his head to find Arya staring at him with eagerness. She was incredibly quick and quiet in her movement and the more he realised, the noises of grunting and feet shuffling on the sand was all him. He lifts his sword one more time in the air, bringing it up and quick to slam it down on her but she ducks her head before side stepping as he tumbles slightly forward. Arya soon drops her large sword before walking closer up to Gendry, pulling out a small dagger from her pocket and resting it against his neck. 

 

“Too Slow” She whispers, her eyes staring deeply in his and for a slight moment, he catches her off guard. And that was all he needed. Using his mightier strength, he grabs hold of her wrist and tightly squeezes it, causing her to drop the knife as she gasps before attempting to step back when she falls back and trips over, dragging Gendry with her down. He tries to hold his weight over her but manages to turn them both over midway as he collides with the sand first, Arya laying on top of him with her hands on his chest. 

The sound of their heavy breaths puffing out into the air as Gendry stares deeply into her eyes, her big doe eyes gazing up at him in return. Her body felt light, like a small child against his as he holds her tightly, their eyes still heavily connected. The sexual tension in the air was lingering like a heavy cloud as her skirt shifted with the wind and Gendry could only hide his embarrassment when he feels himself _twitch._ Her pink full lips are parted, heavy breaths escaping, while her eyes began to scan his face. Her milky pink skin was tainted with a pink tinge across her cheeks and Gendry could only share her blush with him. Memories of them holding each other tight against one another felt so familiar that Gendry unconsciously brought a hand down to her back while her hand slowly moved to the side of his cheek, her small hands cupping his prickly cheek. It was as if time had stopped, frozen and still and it was only the two of them lost in each others company as their bodies touch familiar spots, affectionate places that had been left untouched for years since the Battle of Winterfell. He was so sure Arya could hear his heart beating wildly in his chest and he could have sworn her head was leaning in closer. Until they were interrupted. 

 

“Gendry?” 

  


Gendry had never seen a person whip up as fast as Arya did, as he too, found himself stumbling up onto his feet away from the intimate position, clearing his throat loudly at the familiar voice. He looks up to notice Agnes staring up at him while glancing at Arya in confusion and for a second, he felt his heart drop to his stomach. 

Out of everyone that occupied the walls of King’s Landing, it had been none other than his future wife, stumbling upon her future husband on the floor tightly hung up in an intimate position with another lady. The two of her handmaidens behind her looked flabbergasted while the guard behind her only nodded in respect to him. He wanted nothing more than to run away from the situation. But instead, he nods his head awkwardly. “Agnes” 

She raises a brow as she walks over closer to him, her arms reaching out to him. She quickly grabs hold of his hands and delicately rubs her thumbs over his dirty hands. His cheeks burned up in humiliation. “I had been looking for you everywhere. Ser Davos said you did not attend the meeting?” 

Gendry could feel his ears heat up. _Had she really needed to say his business so out loud to everyone?_ He clears his throat. “Sorry, I meant to let you know. I was tired and decided to retire early. I wasn’t feeling well” 

He can hear a scoff from beside him and they both turned around to see Arya looking wildly up at them in amusement. Agnes does not seem impressed with her as she lets out a bittersweet smile to Arya, her judgemental yet conniving eyes glancing strangely at her. She suddenly releases Gendry’s hands before walking over to her. Gendry follows closely. 

 

“I’m sorry, we must not know each other. I’m Agnes Baker of House Estermont, the soon to be future wife of Storms End-” She pauses, raking in Arya’s appearance “-And you must be?” 

 

Arya does not say anything but turns her attention back to Gendry. “Soon to be wife?” Agnes turns her gaze over her shoulder to stare back at him. _Should he lie? Should he claim that Agnes was a friend? But that would seem stupid. Agnes would outwardly deny and would only cause problems. But would Arya care? Surely she would’ve had to have known_ . _Almost everyone at court had known. How didn’t she? Had the intimate position Agnes and Gendry were in when she had caught them, the day of the tournament in the garden not spoken volumes?_

 _But this was now his fault. He had flirted shamelessly with her and had led her on. He couldn’t blame her. The fault was all his. He was acting like a love sick puppy to her all the while his betrothed roamed the walls._ His head was spinning from the thoughts that plagued his mind, he hadn’t noticed Agnes walking back over to him slipping her arm through his. He can feel himself trying to pull away from her grip but she only glares at him and tightens her hold. 

 

Arya looked well about pissed off. There was no more sweat staining her forehead only a slow bead of sweat rolling down her temples. Her eyes were staring deeply at him, silently throwing daggers in anger and he could feel her wrath from here. _Please forgive me Arya._ Suddenly she lets out a sweet smile, shaking her head before turning to Agnes. “Sorry m’lady, I’m just a servant girl from the kitchens. If you’ll excuse me” 

Gendry opens his mouth to protest but Agnes pulls her arm tightly, smiling as they both watch Arya lift up her sword from the ground, shove it into her case before walking past them towards the stairs, her head slowly disappearing in the distance not once sparing a spare glance backwards. He felt confusion clouding his mind.  _Why did she lie about who she was?_

 

“What the hell were you thinking Gendry?” 

 

He could only turn around to face Agnes before he feels a harsh slap onto his cheek. A slight sting pains his cheek for a sudden movement and he stares back at Agnes in her justified anger. She had almost caught them about to have a… kiss? Intimate moment? Whatever it was, it was definitely something that a man, especially a lord, who was betrothed to someone else should not be doing with another. He could feel the guilt spread through him like wildfire. He wasn’t going to deny anything. Although nothing happened, he knew Agnes wasn’t dumb. She could tell the passion and the sexual tension that radiated off the both of them in that short moment. There was something more than simple intimacy. 

 

How could he possibly make up to Agnes and both Arya for this? 

 

“I’m sorry” he finally lets out but she says nothing as she shakes her head. “Maybe next time, try finding a more private area” And with that, he watches in deep shame and guilt as she walks over back to her handmaidens as they follow her up the stairs.

 One of his guards walks up to him, bowing shortly in respect. “My lord, if you are ever in _any_ trouble, you can always rely on me” Gendry notices the way the guard emphasises ‘any’ but doesn’t double take to think on it more. Instead, he nods at him, patting his back. “You are a good man” And with that courtesy, he walks off back towards Agnes and her handmaidens leaving Gendry all alone. 

 

**What had his life come too?**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one of my favorite chapters to write in all honesty. i just loved writing the dialogue & sexual tension between gendry and arya. reminds me of them & their freedom when they were travelling, but obviously i added the sexual tension part. anyways i hoped you all enjoyed this as much as i did.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uploading two days in a row? who am i  
> this chapter is NOT EDITED!

 

**Chapter 11**

 

He hadn’t seen her since that fateful evening. Despite his futile attempts of searching for her distinctive face around in the crowd or the many passing by faces in court, he could never seem to locate her. It was as if she disappeared off the face of the earth. And Gendry didn’t know how to feel.  _ What could he possibly say to her?  _

He was torn with his emotions. Agnes had furtively avoided and ignored him at all costs but kept by his side, holding his arm and smiling courteously at others in public for appearances.  And he didn’t blame her. He had humiliated her through a small act but it had impacted her heavily and he knew that she needed time to calm down and build over their broken trust, something that he hadn’t taken precociously. 

And what had he expected less? She knew that by now, his heart and mind belonged to her, even though he didn’t say it outright, his actions spoke louder than words. He may have held her at night while she kept him company laying next to him night after night but he  _ knew  _ that this was by far anything of her control.  _ Had she known that his heart, body and soul was Arya’s?  _ She didn’t know who Arya was exactly or what hold she had over Gendry but he understood her humiliation. And so he let her have her space. Until then, as guilt and shame ridden he had been, although he would never admit,  his search for Arya Stark became his priority. 

 

“Gendry!” 

 

Through all the boisterous noise that echoed throughout the great hall from the large feast, Gendry managed to catch his name rifting through the air as he turns his head to see the king, Jon, staring at him with a smile. The other lords of Westeros looked at the pair before continuing their conversation, a few of them grumbling in annoyance. It was known to the other great lords that the king and the lord paramount of the Storm Lands were exceptionally close. 

He stands within his seat before bowing his head respectively. “My King” 

 

He watches as Jon stands up from the table, Daenerys quickly glancing at the pair, before he walks behind the table over to Gendry’s seat. He turns back to glance at Agnes beside him but she does nothing but glare at him before turning her back, leaving a little sting on his confused heart. 

 

Jon takes a seat beside him, placing a pat on his back. “You ‘right lad? You seem distraught” 

 

_ Distraught was only one of the first feelings he had felt.  _ He gulped, taking a swing of his ale drowning his thoughts. “Not distraught my king, more stressed as it seems” 

Jon can only nod his head before slowly scanning the room. The feast, after much of Jon’s reluctance, was held as an extended party for the future heir of the six kingdoms heir. Daenerys had only sought it fitting that her first born child was filled with extreme festivities and delightful food and company. Gendry wouldn’t of minded of course but he had more troubling concerns reigning over his thoughts. 

 

Gendry turns over to Jon. “And how are  _ you? _ ” 

 

Jon inhales sharply, contemplating for a hard second before smiling slowly. “Better now a days-” he mutters low that Gendry has to lean in closer, the smell of wine lingering in his breath “-but it’s been tiring” 

And he could only imagine. He knew over the years from Jon and from others that becoming king was not exactly what he had wanted. From a bastard of Lord Eddard Stark to the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch to the King of the North and now, the King of the six kingdoms, he almost felt sorry for Jon. He had never asked for this, only bestowed upon him as a consequence of marrying his lover. 

Gendry could only nod. “I don’t blame you. Being a king is hard. '' Jon nods in response before lifting his cup of ale to Gendry’s as a toast. “Better days have come my friend, you too will experience the joy of a child soon. Well- hopefully” He can see him glancing towards Agnes beside him who was consumed deeply engaged in another conversation.  _ He wished it was Arya sitting beside him, carrying his future child and heir.  _ But he only exhales before forcing a tired smile. “Eventually” 

Suddenly, a loud sharp noise is echoed throughout the room and the lords and ladies all pause in their movement including Jon as they turn around to see Daenerys standing up from her seat. Jon only smiles as they both sit back in their chairs. 

“My lords and ladies of Westeros-” Daenerys begins, all eyes gazed heavily upon her. The soft music is up to a halt as she smiles brightly at the crowd. “-you have all travelled long and far to gather here today to join us in this great ceremony-” she points out towards Jon. Gendry nods his head, turning his head slightly to lift up his cup in his hand when he pauses. Out of the corner of his eye, the familiar face he had been scanning for the entire time through had finally appeared in his clear vision.

She was standing against the wall at the far back, watching with hesitant and wary eyes at the crowd. She is no longer wearing her navy blue dress from the other evening but instead, she was dressed back in her usual clothes, her sword laying low on her right hip beside her. His heart churns anxiously with relief as he takes another gulp of his ale.  _ Had she been here the whole time? Should he have approached her?  _

Daenerys voice booms loudly once more. “-And for that, I know you must have all been waiting patiently on what me and the King have decided to name the heir of Westeros” But Gendry was zoning out. His eyes could only glaze over her for so long that it physically felt impossible to peel his eyes off her. She hadn’t seemed to realise that he had been staring at her shamelessly but he could care less. 

She was what plagued his thoughts the moment he woke up in the mornings to the late second he fell into a deep slumber at night.  She was the constant reason why Gendry felt his toes curl up in anxious happy jitters or the way he held his breath every time she was near. All he wanted to do was run up to her and engulf her in his arms, swallowing her whole and to never let her go. But those dreams were all gone out the window as much as he hated to admit.  _ Could he ever gain her trust again?  _

 

“And despite Jon’s awful suggestions for names-” Daenerys humorlessly teases as the crowd breaks into a rumble of laughter “-we have decided to name him  **Jaehaerys Targarayen!”**

 

The great hall once again breaks into a loud laugh reigning in shouts and cheers in glee as Jon beside him chuckles before standing up and walking over back to Daenerys, placing a loving kiss on her forehead. Despite all the lavishes of food and beauty surrounded all around him, his eyes were still heavily trained on her, and her only. Soon, the music once again begins to play loudly and the room is once again filtered with loud humorous chatter. A few of the ladies and men had jumped up from the table and lifted their cups in the air for a toast before waltzing over to the dance floor towards the music, swaying softly to the beat. 

He squints closer to see her still leaning against the wall and as if it was in slow motion, he watches as her head cocks slightly to her left and finds his deep blue eyes staring deeply at her. They hold eye contact for a second and he almost feels like he can’t breathe. But as the chatter begins to get louder, he blinks and then she’s gone. His heart almost lurched out in sadness. 

Swallowing his cup of ale deeply, he stands up in his chair which no one seems to mind but Agnes. She turns to him and looks at him warily but he can only shove down the turmoil of guilt rumbling inside him, reaching down to her ear “I’m going to the garderobe. I’ll be back in a second” And before he knows it, he finds himself walking out of the hallway and through the nearest entrance where she had been standing near. 

As he walked away from the ringing noise that echoed, he is left by himself in the empty hallway finding only but a few servants who curtsy shortly at him. He can only smile awkwardly before he walks down, turning a quick left at one of the hallways before following it down. 

_ What was he supposed to say to her?  _ He had failed to mention that he had a soon to be wife, a lady in waiting whom he had already dishonoured much to his dismay of sleeping with her. He caused both of these woman great shame and there was no one else to blame but himself. But he needed to talk to her. As much as he wanted to turn back and ride all the way back to the safety and comfort of Storms end, he needed to explain. No matter how shitty his apology was, he wanted to talk to her. The only thing that could ease his burden was to talk to her once more. 

Gendry continues down the hallway until he is far away from the Great hall. There is only a lingering light from a few rooms down but the corridor was empty, only an empty staircase lit by the moonlight outside. The air is warm and thickly and all he wanted was to give out and shout in frustration. 

Suddenly, a shadow lurks out from behind the staircase and he squints his eyes closer to adjust to the darkness but he knows it’s  **_her_ ** . He knows that she had been watching him, knowing fully well he would follow her. He wasn’t sure if that thought made him anxious or relieved. She emerges from the darkness, the moonlight shining bright against her milky soft skin. Her face reads no emotion. She looks dark, deadly and almost lonely as her brown eyes bore straight into him. He ignores the slight ache in his stomach as he walks closer to her but she steps backwards, causing his heart to slightly pang in his chest. 

 

“Arya” He breathed out. 

 

She didn’t say anything but instead, continued to stare at him wildly as if he was an animal. How desperately he wanted to reach out to her, to hear her say something but instead he was greeted with silence.  _ How could he even begin?  _

He shakily lets out a breath. “Arya, I-” 

 

She only lets out a small mumble before walking closer to him. He stares at her slowly up and down before his eyes settle down on her hands. It was bloody and bruised, her knuckles covered in blue and purple. His heart almost lurched out in a protective instinct but she only pulled back her hands. 

He wants to let out a frustrated groan. Her voice sounded emotionless and lifeless that he was scared if he said anything else, she would crack. But he failed to forget that she was Arya Stark of Winterfell. His little wild wolf. She was strong. Stronger than he had ever been. 

 

“I’m sorry” It was all he could say. 

 

She turns her head downwards for a second before looking back up at him. “There’s nothing to apologise for”  

He can only stare at her, mouth agape open in shock.  _ She certainly hadn’t forgotten what had happened. Did she simply just not care that he was betrothed or that he simply hadn’t mentioned to bring it up?  _ Whatever it was it felt like his hands would not stop slightly quivering. 

“What do you mean, nothing to apologise for? I think you know exactly what for ,Arya” He exclaimed out loud, raising his arms in the air. She doesn’t say anything but instead casts a longing glare over at him. She looks down at her shoes before peering back up at him. “We’re merely just friends-” She shrugs her shoulders and Gendry looks like he’s seen a ghost “-and nothing more” 

Her words stung like a bee against his heart, as he tries to swallow the painful lump that catches itself within his throat but instead he lets out a weary throat croak.  _ Friends? Is that what they were?  _ Maybe they had been after all. Maybe Gendry had sought more and expected too much from her while here she was thinking about friendship.  _ Was she lying? What was her motive?  _

Gendry shakes his head in disbelief before he walks over to her and grabs her wrist ever so softly. Her eyes widened in confusion, staring down at their linked hands before up at his desperate eyes. 

 

“Friends? Is that what we are, Arya?” He tightens his grip on her wrist and doesn’t stammer, the tone in his voice is genuine and sincere. His words seem to have a slow effect on her as she shifts her feet beneath her before glancing up at him. She yanks her wrist out of his gasp. 

“Yes Gendry, we’re friends. Nothing more” She attempts to hatefully spit out but it’s useless. It only took a second glance over her eyes to know that she was lying. The way her left eye slowly twitched as a corner of her mouth rose, he knew in an instant heartbeat that she was lying. And it soared his confidence. 

“Your lying” He cautions to her. She shakes her head while looking downwards, shuffling herself right and further away from Gendry but he doesn’t let her escape. He follows her exact movements and she looks at him bewildered and annoyed. 

 

Her facial expression is solemn “No  _ Gendry,  _ I’m not” 

He wanted to yell out in frustration. He knew they weren’t just ‘friends’. He knew that deep down somewhere within her, a small part of her still loved him. The way her eyes looked at him the other night, with a deep passion and intensity glowing alive in her eyes, he knew that she still loved him.  _ But she was too stubborn to admit it.  _

 

“Don’t do that Arya, don’t” He cautions to her, Arya’s doe eyes glaring at him hatefully back. 

 

She scoffs outwardly, offended “Don’t do what Gendry? I’m only admitting the simple truth. We are friends and nothing more, as much as you want to believe” 

Gendry can only grab her by the forearm as she gasps before he swiftly turns them around and presses her up against the wall, her eyes staring at him with shock. His right arm was holding his weight from against the wall as his left arm was snaked around her waist. The closer he was, he began to realise that her milky soft skin had slight battle wounds of knife markings and cuts all over her face. Her nose was thin but slightly crooked on one side while her pink upper lips looked slightly more plump, the effect of constantly being punched in the face during her years in Braavos.

She’s breathing gently against him now as her hands are on his chest, pushing with all her might to get him off but it was pointless. He was bulk and strong. 

 

“Don’t pretend you can’t feel it-” He begins before bringing his lips down to her small ear lobe, his hot breath fanning the nape of her neck. She can feel pleasurable shivers crawling down her spine down to her toes “-Don’t pretend you don’t feel  _ something  _ when it’s just the two of us” He breaths out. 

 

Arya only lets out an angry grunt before kicking his shins with her foot,  shaking out of his arms and turning around to face him, Gendry’s eyes peering at her as he groans from the pain. 

She only shakes her head at him. “So what do you want me to say?-” Her anger had finally slipped its way through her strong facade, her nostrils flaring in anger as she points accusingly at him “-That I don't care about you being betrothed to someone else? That i'm still madly in love with you?-" She had stance closer to him now and she looked deadly.  Gendry didn’t know whether to feel angry, frustrated, sad or downright horny. 

 

“-C’mon Gendry! Just fucking say it!”

 

Gendry lets out a frustrated groan, harshly running his hands through his messy black hair. “Yes! No! Fuck- I don’t know Arya okay! I just want you to stop being so afraid to say what you want!” 

She storms over to him before she shoves him with all her might, causing Gendry to slightly stumble back. He lets her continue to push him until he is on the floor and she is hovering over him, her hair hanging loosely. Gendry stumbles up. 

“I’m not afraid you stupid  _ stupid  _ bull headed boy!” She shouts angrily at him before aiming to come closer towards him, instigating another push but Gendry simply holds her arms and pushes her back slightly, Arya stumbling backwards. She looks at him with a rage inside of her that he watches her kick the ground.  “And if I were to tell you how I felt, what good would that do? You are about to be married Gendry, for fucksake!” 

 

He only looks at her before walking closer to her, his blue eyes glossy as the moonlight glistens upon him. “Just tell me what you want,  _ please-”   _ He trudges daringly closer to her and she doesn’t move back, only slightly panting from her previous outburst “-if you have any love for me at all, tell me that all of this wasn’t one sided and I hadn’t made it all up. Tell me that  _ you  _ feel it too-” 

Gendry had been panting as he spoke those harsh words. She looked taken aback, as if she was unsure on what to do. Her breath slightly hitches in her throat when she watches as he lifts his hands to her face before cupping her face, allowing the warmth to flood her as his thumbs traced her skin, comfortingly. His coarse roughed hands-  _ hands that she had grown used too _ \- touched her skin as if it had a mind of his own, moving to the base of Arya’s neck where her sensitive spot was as he brushed his fingertips lightly over it. She briefly closes her eyes and enjoys it for a millisecond. How could something so right be so wrong? 

She slowly lifts her eyes open  before she sees him leaning closer, their undeniable sexual tension heating off the both of them like a hot flame in a winter's night. “Tell me, Arya-“ he pleaded, barely whispering “-just say it and I’m yours” 

In that moment, her heart was torn. She wanted to tell him that he was right and that they weren’t pretending. She wanted to tell him how crazy in love she had been with him this whole time and to beg him to never let her go. The way their bodies simultaneously and accordingly fit into each other like a perfect jigsaw felt like it was so right. But it was tragically wrong. She couldn’t do this to him. So as she batted her glossy lashes over her eyes, she tries to hold back the howling wolf cry that desperately wants to release from her mouth. But she withholds before sighing. She shrugs herself out of his secure arms despite her craving to run back into his arms. She couldn’t do this any longer. “Gendry… we  _ can’t”  _

Arya had stepped further away while they both paused, halting in silence as her words linger loudly through their minds. The tension in the air was as thick as the humid heat outside and Gendry was beginning to feel like he had been hit by a truck, his emotions flooding through him like water seeping through holes on a ruined ship. He stared at her intensely to see her bottom lip slightly quivering. The two of them stand in silence, raking in the rejection, Gendry swallowing the lingering ache in his heart. 

  
  


“Why won’t you fight for me?”

  
  


She eyed him like a hawk, her doe brown eyes scrutinising him under her intense stare. She can only begin to open her mouth before she decides against it and closes, sighing in defeat and exhaustion before walking back further into the darkness. Gendry could physically feel his heart ripped into two. She continues to walk away from him, moving towards the staircase until she pauses on the second step, the moonlight was spilling all over her reflection and for a second, she looked calm. 

She turns her gaze over her shoulder. “You should’ve told me” she spoke softly and he could feel her sadness through her tone. His heart yearned loudly in his chest as he blinks. 

He felt exhausted. His mind was racing with confusing thoughts as he could feel his social meter wearing down causing him to shrug a hand through his coarse hair. His head felt light, his hands clammy and sweaty from the anxiousness that soared through him. They were like a pair of two forbidden flames, on the brink of touching and being with each other but torn apart from haunted mistakes and society itself. He wished he could walk over to her, grabbed her by the waist and slammed his lips against hers but he knew that he couldn’t. She didn’t want him as much as he thought. He thought that she loved him as equally so, but it turns out, he was once again left dumb founded and love struck. 

 

He was a fool. 

  
  


“Gendry I-“ he hears Arya shout out to him but it’s too late. His feet manage to shuffle him out of the empty corridor fast, walking to wherever his feet led him too, his loud boots clanging against the concrete pavement beneath him. 

He suddenly lets out a throaty gasp as soon as the summer air smacked him across the face, his chest heaving up and down. He glances at his surroundings to notice that he had ended up in outside in the courtyard once again.  _ Home.  _ Gendry doesn’t know what to do with himself before he cautiously takes a seat on the bench before shaking his head, burying his face deep into his rigid palms. 

Just when Gendry could think he was back to being on the road of greatness, here he was again, sitting by himself as if time repeated itself from all those years ago. 

Bitter, angry and all alone left with the ache in his torn heart that the woman he  _ still  _ loved had caused. 

 

How many times must he pick up the pieces to his broken heart? 


End file.
